Gourmet gifts from your garden
As we are approaching the festive season, our minds turn to showing appreciation to our loved ones through gifting. A DIY gift made with love is a good place to start and a gift that is grown in your own garden is especially appreciated. Festive food gifts can be dressed up in gorgeous packaging and you can also reuse jars making them sustainable.
Green tomato chutney
If, like me, you have handfuls of unripened tomatoes that you want to use rather than compost, then this recipe is for you. Green tomato chutney is a classic combination of green tomatoes, apples, onions and spices. The tangy condiment is amazing paired with cheese or cold meats and makes a lovely gift when bottled up.
Chutney is a great make ahead gift for Christmas, and you can substitute the green tomatoes for pumpkin, or whatever fruit you have growing in your garden for the apples and the results will be just as good.
Recipe ingredients:
• 500g of green tomatoes
• 450g of chopped onions
• 450g of cooking apples that have been peeled and chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 500ml of malt vinegar
• 170g of light muscovado sugar
• 170g raisins
• Yellow mustard seeds
• Chilli flakes
• Ground Ginger
• Pinch of salt
Method
• Peel, core, then roughly chop the apples, tomatoes and onions, finely chop the garlic.
• Place the apple, onion, garlic, ginger, chilli flakes, spices and fruit into a large, wide saucepan. Stir in the vinegar, sugar and salt. Stir the mixture over a medium heat until all the sugar has dissolved.
• Once the sugar has dissolved, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat slightly and simmer the chutney for around one hour, stirring every so often. As it thickens, stir more frequently and watch that the sugar does not begin to stick to the bottom of the pan. The chutney is done when you can scrape a wooden spoon across the bottom of the pan and the chutney does not flow back into the gap.
• Meanwhile, to clean any used jam jars, you can put them through the dishwasher to sterilise.
• Carefully spoon the chutney into the sterilised jars and seal while hot. Store in a cool, dark place for about a month before eating or gifting, to let the flavours mellow.
Garden infused olive oil
Infused oils are easy to create and make a decorative looking gift with colourful goodies suspended in the oil. The method can be adapted to use a wide range of infusions. These oils are so versatile and can be created to suit individual taste. Chilli and garlic infused oils are delicious on bread or drizzled over homemade pizza, a fantastic gift for a food lover.
Recipe base:
• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Peel from 2 lemons
• Herbs/ flavouring of your choice
Method for spicy garlic infused olive oil
• Warm the lemon peel, garlic, whole chillies and olive oil together on a very low heat and allow to cool before pouring into your jar or bottle of choice.
• To the bottle you can continue to add herbs for visual elements, for example sprigs of rosemary.
• If you are using rosemary, be sure to use dried springs as they don’t hold bacteria.
• For an extra special addition you can go all out with some edible glitter to add to the oils!
Making these edible gifts can be done now to ensure all the flavours are developed in time for Christmas. The jars can be dressed up with some twine and sprigs of holly from the garden just before gifting to give an extra homemade feel.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tara Kate Linnane is passionate about sustainability and growing all things edible. Together with her husband Barry, she has embarked on a journey of designing edible spaces and getting others started on their gardening adventures.
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