Tomato and chilli chutney

I used a mixture of yellow, red, chocolate and black tomatoes to give the chutney a nice deep colour.

Also if you would like to make it more thicker or a little bit sweeter, the 500g of tomatoes should be able to take up to 300g of sugar.

Ingredients

• 6 red chillies
• 500g  Tomatoes
• 1 green pepper
• 2 cloves Garlic, crushed
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger (grated)
• 150g caster sugar
• 90ml red wine vinegar

Method

1. Finely chop the chillis, tomatoes and the pepper, place in a heavy bottomed pan along with the rest of the ingredients.
2. Bring to the boil
3. Simmer for 30-40mins
4. Place into sterilised jars and allow to cool.

Serve with cheese, meats, pate’s or what ever takes your fancy.

Just like the Hot Mango Chutney it retails at £3.99 for a 340g Jar, When you first open it you are hit with a lovely sweet chilli smell and the jelly glistens in the light.

I stuck a spoon straight in and scooped out a big chunk, it was quite thick and gloopy (in a good way) so i wasn’t sure if it would spread well or not, but to my surprise it spread like a dream, ow this might sound a bit weird but it really did spread well, nice and evenly with not too much effort, so a big thumbs up there.

The first time I tried it was with cheese on toast – WOW what a taste sensation, sweet, spicy and full of flavour, It wasn’t blow your head off hot but it was hot enough that after a while you knew you had eaten in. It went perfectly with the cheese. I have also added it to gravy for with spicy sausages, this also worked a treat, but by far my favourite way to enjoy it is with roast chicken and stuffing sandwiches, the sweetness compliments the chicken and stuffing really well (a bit like cranberry sauce) but the chilli adds that extra kick and a whole new dimension, I’ve actually been buying chicken just so I can make that combo over and over again.

If you want to try it for your self (and i know you do) you can buy it from www.julesandsharpie.co.uk

Chilli Up North Verdict: Fantastic what ever you choose to eat it with, sweet, spicy and leaves a lovely chilli tingle on your tongue 8/10 (Heat rating: 7/10)

The packaging on all of the jars is great, it is very simple and clean with one stand out image of a chilli (habenero i think) The jars retail at £3.99 for a 340g jar – which when you consider all of their contents is hand made, is pretty good value for money.

When they arrived I didn’t really know which one to start with but as it turned out i was making curried cod for tea so the Very Hot Mango Chutney seemed to fit right in.

My first taste was with a bit of naan bread, the flavour hits you straight away, sweet but not sickly mango then a lovely chilli heat hits you, it’s not mega hot but you certainly know the chilli is there and the more you eat the more you feel your lips tingle. The main problem with the chutney for dunking is that the chunks of mango are quite big (which isn’t a bad thing) so it’s more of a spreadable chutney than a dunkable one.

The jar also suggests having it with ham or strong cheese, so i thought i would give both a go, two days running I had the mango chutney with some ham, cheese and salad in a nice big brown bun, it worked really well, there was enough flavour in the chutney so that you could still taste it but at the same time it didn’t overpower the cheese or ham.

I also tried it with some blue cheese which worked surprisingly well, the sweetness and heat cut through the saltiness of the cheese and it turned out to be a real flavour treat, having said that my favourite way to eat it is on a cracker with a slice of nice stinky brie, the sweetness of the mango and the texture of the brie with the little bit of crunch from the cracker followed by the heat from the chilli is just awesome.

Finally I tried to compare the chutney to our regular hot mango chutney from a well known brand and to be honest the Jules and Sharpie one ate up the big brand and spat it out, there is simply no comparison.

Chilli Up North Verdict: Super tasty mango chutney with a great blend of spices, could possibly do with a bit more chilli to justify the very hot label but non the less its bloody good! 9.5/10 (Heat rating 7/10)

Jules and Sharpie Very Hot Mango Chutney

Chilli, Garlic and Ginger Jam

Our prayers were answered when The Chilli Jam Man got in touch asking if I would like to try some of his Jams, without hesitation I said yes, we then got chatting via Email and I learned a bit about the history of the Chilli Jam Man and how his career had turned from Mortgage broker to Chilli Jam Man, it was fascinating and inspiring stuff, I also found out he too was based in Yorkshire, so I was really looking forward to his Jams.

From looking at his new website it looks like he has started to do a whole range of jams and sauces, ranging from the hot Yorkshire 3 peaks to the sweet chilli and chocolate sauce.

The first one I have tried is his Hot chilli, garlic and ginger jam, which was the jam that started it all off for him. It retails at around £3.00 for a 200g jar, this seems to be a pretty competitive price for something that some much care and attention has gone into.

The jam is a lovely dark rich colour with a lovely reddy brown hue, it smells fantastic, you can certainly pick out the ginger, garlic and chilli as soon as you open the jar.

The consistency is a little bit different to most chutney I have tried, it has lovely little fine chunks, the closest texture i can think of is Branston Sandwich pickle, this however packs far more of a punch than its mass produced rival.

The first thing that hits you is the garlic, sweet and pungent yet not too over powering, you then get a little bit ginger heat and sweetness followed by a big bang of chilli that lasts in your mouth and builds up the more you eat.

I have managed to team the chutney up with ham sarnies, cheese and crackers but by far my favourite way was with cheese on toast, just dab a bit on your toast either before or after grilling and it adds a whole new dimension to the dish, far better than Worcestershire Sauce.

Chilli Up North Verdict: Great local chilli jam, pretty hefty chilli kick, certainly one for the garlic lovers 8/10 (Heat Rating: 7/10)

If you don’t have a deep fat fryer then fill a big saucepan up with oil, leaving a few cm gap from the top of the pan, and be very careful.

This serves 2 or 3 but you can increase it if you want to serve more.

Ingredients

• 1 Ball of Mozzarella cheese, drained.
• Fresh white breadcrumbs
• 1tsp chilli flakes or chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp dried mixed herbs
• salt + pepper
• 2 beaten eggs
• Salad and dip to serve (i used the chilli jam again but the lion serves theirs with spicy pickle which works a treat.)

Method

1. Chop the mozzarella into slices or chunks, depending on how you would like them. Pat them dry with some kitchen paper.
2. Crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk together.
3. Put the breadcrumbs into a separate bowl, season with salt and pepper and add the garlic, chilli, herbs and paprika, mix well.
4. Dip the cheese slices/chunks in the egg followed by the breadcrumbs, making sure they are coated all over.
5. Fry in the oil until crisp and golden – usually only takes a minute or two.
6. Serve on a bed of salad with the dip of your choice.

Sorry no pic as of yet as i can’t find the one i took, i will re- take one next time i make them.

It takes ages to cook but that’s the beauty of it, it’s also really really cheap and very very tasty.

Ingredients

• 1.5kg piece of pork shoulder
• 1tsp Chilli flakes
• 1tsp Cayenne pepper (use less if you don’t like heat)
• salt
• pepper
• Chilli and tomato jam as seen here

Method

1. Pre heat your oven to 230 degrees,
2. Score the fat on the pork as this helps it puff up into lovely crispy crackling.
3. Mix the pepper, salt, cayenne and chilli flakes together and rub all over the pork and fat, getting right into the scores.
4. Place in roasting tray and roast for 40mins until the skin has started to turn to crisp up.
5. Turn the oven down to 160, cover the pork with foil and roast for another 4 hours
6. Baste the pork with the fat from the bottom of the tray then tip the rest into a jug.
7. Leave the foil off and roast for another hour to and hour and a half until soft and pulls apart with a fork.
8. Serve with all the trimmings and the chilli jam.

this also makes excellent hog roast sarnies, wraps and all sorts of other meals so not only is it cheap its multifunctional.

As usual the measurements are a bit iffy as i made it up as i went along!

They can be made in advance, up to the breadcrumb stage then kept in the fridge.

Ingredients

Chilli and tomato jam

(this makes 1 small pot)

• 3 red chillis (just standard supermarket ones are fine although it works with just about every chilli)
• handful of cherry tomatoes (about 12 or so)
• 3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
• 150g sugar
• 2 cloves of garlic

Fishcakes

(this makes 12 small fishcakes)

• 420g fish – i used haddock fillets
• 1 packet (250g)  raw king prawns
• 400g of maris piper or king edward potatoes
• butter
• breadcrumbs (i made my own fresh by blitzing some white bread and then drying the crumbs in the oven with a little salt and pepper)
• 1 egg lightly beaten
• 4 spring onions
• 1 teaspoon chilli powder
• salt + pepper
• small bunch of parsley
• zest of a lemon.

Method

To make the chilli and tomato jam:

1. De seed and finely chop the chillis (or you can leave them in for some extra heat)
2. chop the tomatoes up into little chunks (you can remove the seeds if you like)
3. Crush the garlic.
4. Heat a small saucepan, add off of the sauce ingredients, bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer until it has reduced to a nice sticky consistency.
5. transfer to a pot or jar and leave to cool.

To make the fish cakes

1. Peel the potatoes, boil them until soft, drain, mash well with a big knob of butter, leave to cool.
2. Poach the fish in some water until it flakes off the skin with ease, remove all the skin and bones, set aside.
3. Remove a few prawns and set aside (these will be used for garnish and cooked at the last minute)
4. Roughly chop the rest of the prawns and fry in a little oil until cooked, allow to cool.
5. Chop the spring onions, then add them along with the lemon zest, chilli powder and parsley to the mash, mix well then season with salt and pepper, add the prawns and fish and gently mix in.
6. Shape the mixture into little patties, wrap in clingfilm then leave until ready to cook.
7. When ready to cook, dip each fishcake into the beaten egg followed by the breadcrumbs, heat some oil in a frying pan, then fry the fish cakes for a few minutes on each side, until golden on the outside and hot in the middle. (you can then put them in the oven to keep warm if you wish)
8. Quickly fry the remaining prawns and place on some kitchen paper
9. Serve the fishcakes on some salad with a dollop of chilli jam on top and garnish with the cooked whole prawns.

Enjoy…and let me know what you think!