As Autumn takes hold, the nights draw in and there is a fresh chill in the air, it is time to pick that last glut of produce from the allotment and greenhouse. Ready for the Autumnal pastime of pickling, jam or chutney making to preserve some of those goodies for the winter months.
Every year I grow too many chillies. The ones that do not make it into the freezer for stir fry and currys are destined for my favourite sweet chilli jam recipe.
For me this is the Russian roulette of jam making depending on what chillies I have decided to grow. Using supermarket standard red chillies give consistent results of a sweet spicy jam with a gentle kick. This year a combination of red and yellow aji lemon chillies have produced a slightly more atomic version. Tweak the number and type of chillies to your liking and tolerance for heat.
This sweet chilli jam is very versatile and will perk up your cold meats, cheeses or I love a little on my fajitas.
Adding a little ancho chilli paste gives an additional fruity and smoky depth of flavour or a teaspoon of smoked paprika will also work well.
Makes: 3 large jars or 4 small jars
Ingredients
8 red peppers
10 red chilli
Thumb-sized piece fresh root ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
1 bulb garlic (10-12 cloves)
400g can cherry tomatoes
750g caster sugar
250ml cider vinegar
1 teaspoon ancho chilli paste (Optional)
Instructions
- Deseed peppers and chop roughly. Chop up chilli, garlic and ginger.
- Put all the chopped ingredients into a blender or food processor and whizz until smooth. Pour into a heavy saucepan. Put the tomatoes into the blender or food processor, whizz up and add to the saucepan. Add the ancho chilli paste if using.
- Add sugar and vinegar and bring to the boil stirring occasionally. Skim off the scum that rises to the surface as the mixture boils. Then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook for 50 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- The sauce should have thickened, continue to simmer until the mixture bubbles like lava, stirring more often so it does not burn on the bottom of the pan.
- Leave to cool for 10-15 minutes then transfer to sterilised jars. It will last up to 3 months in the fridge.
Adapted from a GoodFood recipe
- 8 red peppers
- 10 red chillies
- Thumb-sized piece fresh root ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 bulb garlic (10-12 cloves)
- 400g can cherry tomatoes
- 750g caster sugar
- 250ml cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon ancho chilli paste (Optional)
- Deseed peppers and chop roughly. Chop up chilli, garlic and ginger.
- Put all the chopped ingredients into a blender or food processor and whizz until smooth. Pour into a heavy saucepan. Put the tomatoes into the blender or food processor, whizz up and add to the saucepan. Add the ancho chilli paste if using.
- Add sugar and vinegar and bring to the boil stirring occasionally. Skim off the scum that rises to the surface as the mixture boils. Then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook for 50 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- The sauce should have thickened, continue to simmer until the mixture bubbles like lava, stirring more often so it does not burn on the bottom of the pan.
- Leave to cool for 10-15 minutes then transfer to sterilised jars. It will last up to 3 months in the fridge.
1
Leave a Reply