Savory Tomato Jam

Tomato Jam? That's what my husband's reaction was, when I started making this on a Sunday afternoon.  I can understand why he couldn't bond with the idea of tomato jam on toast.   I didn't create this recipe for toast and jam.  I was inspired to make a Savory Tomato Jam out of pure lust.  You see, there's a local restaurant that served a dish that I fell in-love with.  It was a lemon-rosemary marinated grilled chicken breast, served over a risotto cake with tomato jam.  I loved it!  But, that special is no longer on the menu, and I was pining for more.

I spotted these beauties at Whole Foods, and it was already October. At $3.99 a pound, I grabbed a couple of baskets and decided that these were destined for my own version of tomato jam.  I did a lot of surfing the internet, but most of the recipes I saw had heat from hot pepper-- and I didn't have a jalapeno in my fridge, anyway.  My taste buds were leaning towards more of a  combination of sweet and sour.  I reviewed my recipe for Peach Chutney, and then I jumped in and started to throw things together:

I had two pints of these beautiful organic tomatoes.  After washing them, I added them to a non-stick pot, and seasoned them with coarse salt & pepper. I decided to use brown sugar-- about a 1/2 cup.

I added about 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar. White vinegar would work, too. 

I decided to add one small diced onion to the mix and enough water to cover the tomatoes. I didn't measure, but I'd guess about 2 cups of water.  I brought the tomatoes to a boil, and then down to a low simmer.   The tomatoes were releasing their pectin. After a few minutes, I gave the jam a taste. To me, it tasted a bit too sweet-- and one dimensional-- for me (hence, I recommend using 1/4 cup of sugar to start with).

 
I decided to add some thyme, red pepper flakes,  and the juice of 1/2 fresh lemons.  Much better!

I let the jam simmer for about 20 more minutes.  This photo makes the pot look like I burned the jam. I almost did, but I got it in the nick of time.  Lesson learned: pay very close attention when reducing something with sugar in it!  I had already been in the middle of canning apple sauce, so I poured the tomato jam into a sterilized jar and the the top sealed with a reassuring "click".  I stored this in the fridge, and two weeks later, I made this recipe with it:

This is a pan-fried chicken breast, served over polenta with a fantastic sauce (I will share that next).  The tomato jam was the perfect topping, for this dish. In fact, my husband raved about how good the tomato jam tasted-- it was his favorite part of the dish.   There's still 1/2 jar of this tomato jam left, and I have another idea...I've shared this chicken recipe, and you can view it here.  I decided to, first, post how I made the tomato jam, so that my post wouldn't be too long.  It's a delicious condiment, with just the right balance of sweet and sour.  I thinking that adding more heat with a jalapeno could work, too.  If  you've never tried cooking down tomatoes, as a condiment, I encourage you to do so.   I plan on making more of this recipe, so that I can enjoy tomatoes year-round.


Here's the recipe: