Despite popular belief to the contrary, tomatoes are not indigenous to Italy. They arrived in Italy from Spain, via Mexico, probably sometime in the sixteenth century, as small berries on bushes, a botanical curiosity. Their relationship to the night shade vegetables, capsicum, potatoes and eggplants may have contributed to the delay in their culinary development.

Happily in 21st century Melbourne town, the Spanish, Italians and Greeks have taught us well of the joys of tomatoes and their simple combinations with basil, garlic, extra virgin olive oil and salt. Ever tried crushing ripe tomatoes into a slab of bread with a clove of garlic and salt, doused in extra virgin olive oil? I can’t say that I have but it does sound extremely doable and perfectly delicious. By the way, tomatoes belong on the bench top and not in the fridge.

Just in case you’ve ever entertained the idea of putting aside some of the summer seasonal goodies for the less enchanting months, you may like to consider allocating an afternoon to a box of extra ripe tomatoes to unearth the culinary guru that lurks within you. Tomato supplies tend to escalate at this time of year and a nudge to your friendly fruiterer may result in some excellent stock being sold at bargain prices because it has to be cooked by tomorrow.

Some years ago, a friend of mine left me with some sort of a bottle of tomato sauce “accelerator”. One was instructed to just add the tomatoes with the promise of creating something suitable, allegedly for the barbeque. By the time I got around to finding an afternoon that I could devote to a crate of tomatoes, the bottle had expired. Frantically I read the label to identify the ingredients, hoping to try and recreate it. Astonishing really that such a thing could expire, nothing listed was recognizable. I tossed this chemical mix into the bin and tore apart my bookshelves looking for an old CWA publication or similar to no avail. Stephanie Alexander’s “Cooks Companion” revealed the secret though. I have detailed it for you below. Perfect with eggs, hotdogs, sausages, and lamb chops, roast beef sandwiches and hamburgers, the possibilities are endless. It is truly delicious! Don’t be intimidated – Impress yourself!

Tomato Relish

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon cloves
• 2 tablespoons whole allspice
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
• 5 kg washed tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 6 peeled cloves garlic finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 30g salt
• 600 ml wine vinegar
• 1 kg sugar

Don’t buy your spices from a supermarket. Call by Limra Groceries, selling Indian and Pakistani spices at 162a Carlisle St, East St Kilda and stock up there. We need to support these businesses, they make food shopping interesting. (Ph 9537 1515, open 7 days 10.30am – 11.30pm).

Equipment

• A free afternoon, a bottle of wine and some excellent music
• Square of muslin (available from Spotlight etc, otherwise a clean, old and very fine handkerchief is suitable) and white kitchen string
• A large stock pot (minimum 6 litres)
• A mouli or fine mesh wire strainer (a conical shape is ideal, but not necessary), alternatively a bamix (see below)
• A funnel
• A selection of sterilized jars with lids to bottle up to 5 litres of sauce.

To sterilize jars: wash the jars and the lids in hot soapy water, rinse in hot water, place in a pot of boiling water for 10 minutes. Drain upside down on a clean tea towel. Using an oven mitt or tea towel to handle the hot jars, place in an oven @ 150c. Remove from the oven and fill them while still warm (see below). Avoid any contact with the interior surfaces.

Method

• Tie the whole spices: cloves, allspice and peppercorns in the muslin and secure with string
• Place all the ingredients other than the sugar into the stock pot.
• Bring to the boil and boil steadily for 1 hour, stirring from time to time
• Add the sugar
• Continue to boil, gently this time, uncovered, stirring every 20 minutes or so for a further 2 hours, ensuring the sauce is not burning on the bottom of the pot.
• Remove the muslin bag from the pot and discard it
• Pass the relish through the mouli or push it through the wire strainer into a large clean bowl. (My sister, decidedly accomplished in these matters, claims that she never bothers with such detail as that of moulis and wire mesh strainers, she merely zaps the pot with her magic bamix, skins and all. I can’t personally recommend it, but it remains an idea that she stands by. Having enjoyed her relish too, I can’t say that I ever noticed the difference.)
• Bottle at once in hot, sterilized jars.
• Allow to cool before storing.

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