Winter warmers | Arabella Cooks

tomato chilli jam trio

Mr Arabella Cooks and I travelled round New Zealand eight years ago. We knew we’d be experiencing phenomenal wines there but hadn’t expected to be so blown away by the food. The portions were enormous but it was all so delicious I put on a stone and a half in three weeks. In Wellington we stayed with some old friends of Mr AC who made this amazing tomato chilli jam for us (along with some gorgeous barbequed salmon – match made in heaven) and I still salivate when thinking about it to this day. It’s tangy, sweet, punchy and a little bit tingly (though really not too much) and I recently got in touch with Melissa and Dave to ask for the recipe as I wanted to make a batch to give as Christmas gifts this year. It’s an adapted Peter Gordon recipe; it’s the perfect Christmas or hostess gift but do keep a few jars back for yourself as it’s unbelievably good with cheese (I love it with soft goats cheese), ham, salmon (it’s the perfect accompaniment to salmon en croute), toasted sandwiches, in bolognaise, on pizzas – as Melissa herself says “it gives everything some zhush!”. Peter Gordon suggests glazing fish or chicken with it before grilling, smearing onto lamb or pork legs before roasting or spreading to a slice of toast and topping with a fried egg. Its uses are endless. Try it. You’ll love it!

Recipe (makes roughly 10 – 15 small Killner Jars worth)

2.5 kg ripe tomatoes
6 red chillis, 5 of them de-seeded; for a mild but punchy jam leave in the seeds of ONE of the chills; if you want it hotter, leave in more of the seeds; for a milder jam, leave out all the seeds.
10 cloves of garlic, peeled
three thumbs of ginger, peeled
100ml fish sauce
1kg golden caster sugar (or plain white if you don’t have golden)
500ml red wine vinegar

Method:

Blend half the tomatoes, all the chillis, garlic and ginger with the fish sauce in a blender (don’t de-seed the tomatoes, they contain the pectin which thickens and sets the jam).
Put the puree into two large pots and add the vinegar and sugar to both (divide equally).
Bring to the boil, stirring constantly, then add the remaining tomatoes (chopped finely) and simmer for 30-40 minutes. Skim off any scum that forms and stir every 5 minutes. Scrape the bottom and sides of the pan every now and again to ensure an even cook and release the solids that collect at the bottom.
When the jam is done (if you put a dollop onto a warmed side plate and push the edge of the dollop with a spoon it should stay where it is and not slide back to where it was), spoon the mixture into sterilised Kilner jars (to sterilise just run through the dishwasher and take out just before you need to use them so they are still warm), top with a small circle of baking parchment, then once the jam has cooled, close the lid and store in the fridge until needed. I used an old school Dynamo to make the label for the jars which looks lovely (a Dynamo label maker doesn’t cost much and you can get Kilner jars fairly cheaply on Amazon). This makes a super gift along with the spiced maple cashew bark in the photo below. Yum!

tomato chilli jam single edible gifts

Mr Arabella Cooks doesn’t consider soup to be substantial enough for his evening meal. He makes an exception however, when I make this chicken soup. I hate wasted food and when we’ve had a roast chicken at the weekend I always make stock from the carcass, and with the leftover meat either sandwiches, fajitas, or this delicious chicken soup. What makes it substantial enough to meet Mr AC’s needs is a large amount of veg and some teeny weeny pasta stars from the Heinz baby weaning range. They add texture and bulk but their teeniness means they’re still delicate and don’t overpower the soup as I find anything larger pasta-wise is apt to do. I’ve tried to find another brand of pasta that’s as small as the Heinz baby stuff but so far without success, so whenever I see it in a supermarket I tend to bulk buy it.

I don’t know if chicken soup can cure colds, but winter is nearly upon us and this version will nevertheless fill you with warmth and cheer you up enormously upon eating. I like it best with several slices of cheap, sliced white bread, spread thick with salty butter. Yum!

Recipe (makes roughly enough to serve 3 or 4 people):

For the stock:

A chicken carcass (leftover from your Sunday roast)
2 or 3 carrots (I often bung in the ones that have gone a bit flabby to use them up)
2 onions
10 black peppercorns
2 fresh bay leaves
2 parsnips
A leek
One Kallo organic chicken stock cube

For the soup:

The meat from the chicken carcass, chopped into chunks. (If there was hardly anything left use a fresh free range chicken breast)
A packet of Heinz baby pasta stars
A carrot, peeled and diced into small squares
A leek, finely sliced

Method:

Make the stock:
1. Place the chicken carcass, roughly chopped carrots and parsnips (John Torode recommends peeling the carrots and parsnips as the skin makes the stock bitter but I don’t usually bother), the leek (cut into thirds), onion (leave the skin on as long as it’s clean, but cut it into quarters), peppercorns and bay leaves into a large stockpot.
2. Cover with cold water.
3. Bring to the boil; skim off any scum that forms on the surface (this is necessary as the scum definitely will make your soup taste bitter).
4. Add the Kallo stock cube.
5. Boil for about an hour or until reduced slightly and cloudy in colour with a good flavour of chicken when tasted.
6. Strain the stock into a large clean pan (don’t empty it over the sink as I have done in the past. This is liquid you need to keep!
Place the pan of stock on the hob. Add the veg and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the pasta stars [I haven’t given a quantity here as I usually do it by eye; I would say about 2 tablespoonfuls is plenty] and chicken and simmer for another 3-5 minutes until the pasta is soft. [If using a fresh chicken breast, chop it into chunks and add it before the veg; once it’s opaque and cooked through add the veg and then the pasta].
Add a few twists of black pepper then taste and add salt if it needs it. Serve with bread and butter. Delish!

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Category Archives: Winter warmers

Tomato Chilli Jam

Chicken Soup