Tomato Relish

Tomato Relish is the perfect way to preserve your summer tomatoes and enjoy them over many months.

It’s delicious and versatile, pairing perfectly with so many things, from sandwiches and burgers to cheese plates and meat pies.

If you’re wondering how to make Tomato Relish at home, you’ve come to the right place.

This recipe is based on the CWA Tomato Relish Recipe I found in Nana Ling’s recipe collection and another old-fashioned country recipe I discovered in a community cookbook.

I’ve included step-by-step instructions to help you make perfect Tomato Relish – even if you’ve never before attempted to make a relish, chutney or jam.

An old fashioned Tomato Relish Recipe

As I mentioned, this recipe is based on two recipes from the past.

The recipes your mum, nana or great grandmother may have used.

The recipes you can trust and really can’t beat!

I’ve reduced the quantities so this recipe uses one kilo of tomatoes. This produces three small jars of relish.

You can, of course, easily multiply the quantities used in the recipe depending on how many kilos of tomatoes you have available.

Tomato Relish: the ingredients

To make up this recipe, you’ll need:

• tomatoes (ripe, any variety including cherry)
• brown onions
• salt
• caster sugar (or any white sugar)
• white vinegar
• curry powder
• mustard powder
• cayenne pepper
• plain flour (all purpose flour).

The precise quantities can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.

You can, of course, multiply the quantities depending on how much relish you’d like to make.

Peeling the tomatoes

Just a heads up – the peeled tomatoes need to stand, along with the onions and salt, overnight. So plan ahead and don’t skip this standing period.

Whatever tomatoes you use, peel them first. This might sound tedious and tricky, especially if you’re using cherry tomatoes, but it’s not. So don’t be tempted to skip this step either as the relish really is more lovely without the tomato skin.

If you haven’t peeled tomatoes before, pack away the vegetable peeler as there’s an entirely different method that better suits tomatoes.

First, cover the tomatoes with boiling water and soak for 2 minutes. Drain off the liquid and wait until they are cool enough to touch.

Skins should now be split and you should be able to easily peel them off with your hands.

If they’re not split, apply a little pressure or scratch at the skin a little and it should peel off easily.

If using cherry tomatoes, they should just pop out of their skin by applying a little pressure at the base of the tomato – see the video in this post for a demo.

Next, allowing the tomatoes and onions to stand overnight

Next, chop the peeled tomatoes (or just halve if using cherry tomatoes) and chop the onion.

Put the chopped ingredients into a baking tray and sprinkle with the salt. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave overnight (at room temperature).

The next day: how to make Tomato Relish

When you’re ready to make your relish, drain the liquid from the chopped tomatoes and onion and place these in a saucepan along with the sugar and vinegar.

Heat over medium heat, stirring, to dissolve the sugar.

Bring to the boil and boil for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Skim off any foam that forms on the top with a spoon.

Combine the curry powder, mustard powder, cayenne pepper, plain flour (all purpose flour) and additional vinegar in a small bowl to make a paste. Add to saucepan and stir well to combine.

Continue to simmer for about another 20 minutes, stirring from time to time to break up the tomatoes and make sure the mixture doesn’t stick to the bottom of the saucepan and burn.

The mixture should thicken to reach a jam-like consistency.

Pour into sterilised jars and allow to cool. Store in the fridge for up to 6 months.

Tomato Relish Recipe: FAQs

Q. How long does Tomato Relish last?

A. Your Tomato Relish should last for up to 6 months if stored in the fridge.

Q. How to use Tomato Relish?

A. Tomato Relish has so many uses. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• use it on a sandwich (ham, cheese and tomato relish is my favourite)
• serve it alongside a meat pie
• add it to a homemade pizza
• slather it on your homemade hamburgers
• use it on nachos instead of salsa
• mix it into your filling when making homemade sausage rolls
• add it to a cheese platter
• have it with sausages and mash
• put it on a bacon and egg roll or add it as a side to your big breakfast.

Q. Does Tomato Relish thicken as it cools?

A. Your relish won’t thicken too much as it cools. It should already be a jam-like consistency when you take it off the heat.

Q. My tomato relish is too runny – help?

A. Just keep boiling it a little longer until it thickens. If it’s still too runny, add a little extra flour mixed to a paste with vinegar. Also, make sure you always allow the tomatoes and onions to stand overnight so that much of the liquid can be removed before cooking.

Q. How to thicken tomato relish?

A. Just keep boiling it a little longer until it thickens. If it’s still too runny, add a little extra flour mixed to a paste with vinegar

Q. Can you freeze tomato relish?

A. You sure can. Store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 12 months.

Q. What else can I do with heaps of tomatoes?

A. Make up a batch of Nana Ling’s VERY popular tomato sauce.