The recipe for the Tomato Petal Cake with Peppered Lemon flavoured soft curd Goats’ Cheese Quenelle, requires my relish as an integral part of the tomato stack. Tomatoes are at their peak a little later in January, but I managed to buy some lovely red and flavoursome vine tomatoes at the South Melbourne market and so I headed home to make the relish.  I knew I would be able to make many extra jars and so to each luncheon guest, I gave a jar of relish.

Margaret’s ‘Inverlaul’ Tomato Relish

This relish is delicious with lamb and other meats, and also on biscuits with cheese.

3k tomatoes
1k brown onions
1k sugar
2tabsp curry powder
3tbsp mustard powder
1tsp cayenne
Salt 2 tbsp
1 cup brown vinegar

Peel, slice, chop tomatoes and onions, place in two separate bowls.  Sprinkle with salt, one tbsp or so for the tomatoes and less for the onions, and leave for 12 hours or overnight, to sweet out the juices. Place in a large saucepan, adding sugar, cayenne pepper and brown vinegar.  Bring to the boil for 5 minutes.  Mix mustard and curry with some of the brown vinegar from the pot, stir into a paste and add to the tomatoes mixture in the saucepan.  Boil gently for one hour.  Stir frequently as it burns easily.

To sterilize jars:  Heat 12+ bottles in oven, for 15 minutes to sterilize.  Pour/spoon mixture into warm bottles, cover with cellophane covers, secured with elastic bands, and replace the lids on jars.  Cover with attractive material, tie and label.

Makes 12 bottles of relish

A dear friend, Margaret Benjamin has made this for her family for years and they love it. It came from her mother and family at their property, “Inverlaul”, in central Victoria.