A delicious all-purpose relish, Pear & Tomato Relish is a winner when looking to preserve the last of the season’s harvest.
It’s a delicious all-purpose relish, amazing to serve on a cheese board as it is in a toasted sandwich! Adapted from Digby Law’s Pickle and Chutney Cookbook, the combination of tomatoes, pears and capsicum makes a fascinating and tasty relish.
While you can peel both the pears and tomatoes, I didn’t find it necessary at all. As well as saving lots of fiddly skin removing processing time, it didn’t affect the appearance or taste of the finished product! The tomato is cooked in chunky pieces and softens easily, however I would highly recommend that the pear is finely chopped as it holds it form surprisingly well and doesn’t soften to a pulp.
It’s not important that the capsicum is red – that was my choice (and growing in the garden). You can use green, red or a combination of the two.
The texture of this relish is absolutely within your control. Keep it chunky, use a potato masher for a medium consistency, or puree in a blender and use as a thick sauce. Any which way – delicious!
Pear & Tomato Relish
Makes: approx 2 litres
Ingredients
- 1kg pears, cored and finely chopped
- 1kg tomatoes, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups red pepper, finely chopped
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 2 cups white sugar
- 1 cup malt vinegar
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp dry mustard
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Method
- Combine all ingredients into a large saucepan.
- Bring to the boil and cook, uncovered, on a medium-low heat for approx 1 hour or until relish is reasonably thick.
- If you are wanting to change the texture, take off the heat and mash or puree into your preferred consistency.
- Pour into sterilised jars (or bottles if using as a sauce), and seal.
