Рецепт Savory Tomato Jam
Tomato Jam? That's what my husband's reaction was, when I started making this on a Sunday afternoon. I can understand why he couldn't bond with the idea of tomato jam on toast. I didn't create this recipe for toast and jam. I was inspired to make a Savory Tomato Jam out of pure lust. You see, there's a local restaurant that served a dish that I fell in-love with. It was a lemon-rosemary marinated grilled chicken breast, served over a risotto cake with tomato jam. I loved it! But, that special is no longer on the menu, and I was pining for more.
I spotted these beauties at Whole Foods, and it was already October. At $3.99 a pound, I grabbed a couple of baskets and decided that these were destined for my own version of tomato jam. I did a lot of surfing the internet, but most of the recipes I saw had heat from hot pepper-- and I didn't have a jalapeno in my fridge, anyway. My taste buds were leaning towards more of a combination of sweet and sour. I reviewed my recipe for Peach Chutney, and then I jumped in and started to throw things together:
I had two pints of these beautiful organic tomatoes. After washing them, I added them to a non-stick pot, and seasoned them with coarse salt & pepper. I decided to use brown sugar-- about a 1/2 cup.
I added about 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar. White vinegar would work, too.
I decided to add one small diced onion to the mix and enough water to cover the tomatoes. I didn't measure, but I'd guess about 2 cups of water. I brought the tomatoes to a boil, and then down to a low simmer. The tomatoes were releasing their pectin. After a few minutes, I gave the jam a taste. To me, it tasted a bit too sweet-- and one dimensional-- for me (hence, I recommend using 1/4 cup of sugar to start with).
I decided to add some thyme, red pepper flakes, and the juice of 1/2 fresh lemons. Much better!
I let the jam simmer for about 20 more minutes. This photo makes the pot look like I burned the jam. I almost did, but I got it in the nick of time. Lesson learned: pay very close attention when reducing something with sugar in it! I had already been in the middle of canning apple sauce, so I poured the tomato jam into a sterilized jar and the the top sealed with a reassuring "click". I stored this in the fridge, and two weeks later, I made this recipe with it:
This is a pan-fried chicken breast, served over polenta with a fantastic sauce (I will share that next). The tomato jam was the perfect topping, for this dish. In fact, my husband raved about how good the tomato jam tasted-- it was his favorite part of the dish. There's still 1/2 jar of this tomato jam left, and I have another idea...I've shared this chicken recipe, and you can view it here. I decided to, first, post how I made the tomato jam, so that my post wouldn't be too long. It's a delicious condiment, with just the right balance of sweet and sour. I thinking that adding more heat with a jalapeno could work, too. If you've never tried cooking down tomatoes, as a condiment, I encourage you to do so. I plan on making more of this recipe, so that I can enjoy tomatoes year-round.