Bermunchie: Sweet n' Spicy Tomato Jam

The summer season has got to be one of my most favourite times to experiment in the kitchen. With all the fresh local produce available, who wouldn’t be inspired to create deliciousness? On this particular day I had been keen on using some fresh local tomatoes but had no idea what to make with them. And then it hit me....... jam. Now I have never made jam or anything similar so I’m not an expert on this. But I looked in my fridge and found a lemon, some red chilies and a bunch of juicy red tomatoes and gave it a go. And I must say it turned out to be easier than I thought.

For my recipe you will need:

2-3 large tomatoes

Half a lemon

1 red jalapeno pepper

½ cup Sugar

Salt & pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Cut the tomatoes into small chunks and put into small sauce pan.

2. Mince red pepper. Leave the seeds in I you like a little spice in your life. Add minced pepper into sauce pan with tomatoes

3. Juice half a lemon into mixture.

4. Add sugar and simmer on medium heat until tomatoes are completely broken down and start to thicken. This takes about 15-20 mins. Finish with a pinch of salt & pepper

5. Remove from heat. As mixture stands it will continue to thicken. Once cooled store in mason jar or air tight container.

The end product resulted in a jammy salsa that went perfectly with the Black Rum Burgers I made for dinner that night (stay tuned for THAT recipe!) Use this as a substitute for ketchup or salsa on fries, hot dogs and anything else you desire. This recipe made about ½ cup of jam so feel free to play around with the measurements if you want to make a bigger batch. You really can’t mess this recipe up!