Preserves
Sweet Plum & Chilli Sauce
This is a lovely sweet sauce with a slight kick. It can be used in a number of dishes or simply mix with mayonnaise and use as a dip with fish. I very often add this to my chilli con carne.
1 large saucepan or flameproof casserole
1 piece of gauze
Small piece of string
1 Pyrex jug or dish
6 glass jars or bottles
Ingredients
3 large red onions
30 ripe tomatoes (or you can use tinned tomatoes if you prefer)
12 ripe plums
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon allspice
1 tablespoon cloves
2 celery sticks – chopped
3 red chillies
1 green pepper
1/3 pint white wine vinegar
1/3 pint boiled water
½ lb white sugar
Method
Begin by cutting the pepper down the middle and remove the seeds, do the same for the chillies. Then chop them into small pieces and leave to one side on a plate.
Chop the onions and celery into small pieces and keep these with the other vegetables.
Pour boiling water over the tomatoes and then remove the skin with your fingers. When cool enough chop the tomatoes into nice chunks, as they will break down during cooking anyway.
Using a vegetable knife remove the skin and stone from the plums and chop these into chunks.
Place the cloves into a small piece of gauze and secure with a piece of string, wrapping it around the handle of your pan so it dangles into the sauce.
Put everything into your pan except the sugar, give it all a very good stir and bring to a rapid boil stirring occasionally.
While the mixture is coming to the boil, place the sugar into a Pyrex jug or dish and put into the oven to slightly warm through.
Once the sauce has reached boiling point add the sugar and give everything a good stir.
Turn the heat down and cook slowly for between 20-30 minutes.
Being a pouring sauce you do not want the sauce to become too thick.
After this time place the sauce into a food processor – this will have to be done in batches. Give everything a quick blitz and then pour back into your pan.
Add a little more water until it reaches the consistency required, giving everything a good stir. This only need take five minutes.
Meanwhile put the jars/bottles into your oven on a very low heat just to heat them through.
Pour the sauce into the jars while it is still hot.
Label the jars/bottles once the sauce has cooled.