Eat With Relish

You may think I'm crazy when I tell you that there's nothing better than my mum's tomato relish, but it's true. It's so delicious you can practically eat it straight from the jar. Coupled with some cheese and bread it is pure heaven, but you can put it on the side of just about anything. It's always been a staple on the fridge at my parents house, and after years of disappointing store-bought relishes I decided to make some for myself. All you need are a tonne of tomatoes, a big pot, and about 4 hours.

Mum's Tomato Relish

       2500 g tomatoes (skinned) (5x500g packs)

       2 peeled and diced brown onions (don't use tough outer layer of onion as it doesn't soften enough).

       2 peeled and diced apples

       1 1/2 cups cider vinegar

       375 g brown sugar

       1 tbsp cloves (use whole ones and pick them out when the sauce is done).

       2 tsp ground allspice

       1 tsp salt

       Black pepper

       ONE PINCH of cayenne pepper. If you are tempted to put in more it will be fairly hot.

To begin: Skin the tomatoes by placing them in boiling water for 30 seconds or so. The peel should come off easily. Combine all the ingredients in the large pot, stir and bring to the boil. Simmer for 4 hours without a lid so that it reduces by half. Occasionally give it a stir and break up the larger piece of tomato with a wooden spoon. After the first two hours prepare your glass jars. Wash your jars with warm soapy water and rinse thoroughly. Place them upside-down in a warm oven at 100 degrees and leave them to sterilise. When you take them out (carefully, with large oven gloves) be sure to fill and lid them quickly to create a seal. They will then last in the cupboard for ages.

This recipe gave me 10 8oz jars of relish - perfect for Christmas presents!