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Healthy Living is your Farmer’s Market Everyday!

One of the many reasons we do all of our shopping for cooking classes at Healthy Living is the gorgeous produce. Especially this time of year, the local goods are pouring in and we can count on Healthy Living to have a huge local selection with the most beautiful products.

We have been especially excited to see local tomatoes coming in! Tomato season is something we wait for all year long and we like to make the most of it by trying new tomato recipes and having fun in the kitchen! We have this special recipe to share with you that we made recently in an Indian cooking class. This tomato chutney is mind-blowingly delicious…so whether you want to hold on to this recipe for when the tomatoes are in full force or make an Indian feast today, it is well worth the effort!

Tomato Chutney

1 head garlic, peeled,coarsely chopped
1 piece fresh ginger, about 2 inches long,1 inch thick and 1 inch wide,peeled and coarsely chopped
1 1⁄2 cups red wine vinegar
2 lbs fresh tomatoes
1 1⁄2 cups sugar
1 1⁄2 teaspoons salt
1⁄8-1⁄2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (personal preference)
2 tablespoons golden raisins
2 tablespoons blanched slivered almonds

Put the chopped garlic, ginger and 1/2 cup of the vinegar into the container of an electric blender and blend at high speed until smooth.

Grate the tomatoes with a cheese grater into a 4-quart, heavy-bottomed pot with non-metallic finish, leaving the skin behind. Add the rest of the vinegar, the sugar, salt and cayenne pepper (or, if you prefer, add the cayenne at the end, a little at a time, stirring and tasting as you do so).

Bring to a boil. Add puree from blender. Lower heat and simmer gently, uncovered, for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until chutney becomes thick. (A film should cling to a spoon dipped in it.) Stir occasionally at first, and more frequently later as it thickens.
You may need to lower the heat as the liquid diminishes.

You should end up with 2 1/2 cups of chutney, and it should be at least as thick as honey after it cools.

If the tomatoes you used have a lot of liquid in them, a longer cooking time may be required, resulting in a little less chutney.

Add the almonds and the raisins. Simmer, stirring, another 5 minutes. Turn heat off and allow to cool.

Bottle. Keep refrigerated.

This post was written by Healthy Living Taste Maker Courtny Contos, owner of Chef Contos Kitchen and Store in Shelburne, Vermont.