Grow and cook: chilli jam recipe
A stylish yet simple container display while growing, this packs a punch when it comes to the finished jam. It is the perfect fiery accompaniment to all sorts of dishes – for example cheeses, cold meats and fishcakes – providing a kick of flavour and a splash of colour. Chilli peppers are a popular vegetable to grow and, as long as they have lots of sunshine, will reward you with a plentiful and fiery crop.
The recipe will make enough jam to fill three 200ml jars.
For the garden, you will need:
- 1 x packet of chilli pepper Vampire F1 seed
- 1 x packet of chilli pepper Krakatoa F1 seed
- 1 x packet of chilli pepper Barak seed
- 1 x packet of tomato Sweet Baby seed
- 1 x oregano/pot marjoram Origanum vulgare
- 1 x 50cm/20-inch diameter container
- Stack of 9cm pots
- Multipurpose or soil-based compost
- General organic vegetable fertiliser
Grow me
Sow in early spring; plant in late spring
1. Prepare one modular tray in early spring and sow all three varieties of chilli pepper, one variety to one row of cells and two seeds per cell. Sow the tomato seed, two seeds each into a couple of 9cm/3½-inch pots.
Leave the tray and pots in a heated greenhouse or on a sunny windowsill (these crops need 18–21°C to germinate).
2. Once the chilli seedlings are large enough to handle, prick the strongest of each variety out into 9cm pots.
3. In late spring, once all risk of frosts has passed, prepare the container in a sunny, sheltered spot and plant one tomato in the centre. Put a 1.75m/6-ft cane next to it, ready to tie into as the tomato grows.
Plant three plants, one of each variety of chilli in front of the tomato. Make a planting hole at the front of the pot. Add a few handfuls of horticultural grit at the bottom to aid drainage and plant the oregano.
4. Keep an eye on the growing tomato plant and pinch out any side shoots that appear between the main stem and the fruit trusses. Once the plant has produced five or six trusses, remove the growing tip. Support the chilli plants with canes as their fruits appear.
5. Water the container regularly – not on the oregano – and use a tomato fertiliser (high in potassium) once all the plants’ flowers set. Keep picking the oregano to encourage fresh, young leaves and to keep the plant compact and healthy.
Time to harvest
You can pick ingredients for this recipe from late summer, once all the crops have ripened.
Ingredients
- 450 g preserving sugar
- 150 ml red wine vinegar
- 750 g ripe, juicy tomatoes, chopped
- 4 chillies (more if you like it hot!), seeded and chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 handful oregano, finely chopped
- 1 pinch salt and pepper, to taste
- 15.9 oz preserving sugar
- 5.3 fl oz red wine vinegar
- 26.5 oz ripe, juicy tomatoes, chopped
- 4 chillies (more if you like it hot!), seeded and chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 handful oregano, finely chopped
- 1 pinch salt and pepper, to taste
- 15.9 oz preserving sugar
- 0.6 cup red wine vinegar
- 26.5 oz ripe, juicy tomatoes, chopped
- 4 chillies (more if you like it hot!), seeded and chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 handful oregano, finely chopped
- 1 pinch salt and pepper, to taste
Details
- Cuisine: British
- Recipe Type: Condiment
- Difficulty: Easy
- Preparation Time: 20 mins
- Cooking Time: 30 mins
- Serves: 12
Step-by-step
- Sterilise the three preserving jars by heating them in the oven (lids separate) for ten minutes at 140°C/gas mark 1. Place a saucer in the refrigerator.
- Place the sugar and vinegar in a heavy-based saucepan (or preserving pan) and cook over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved.
- Add the chopped vegetables and stir together in the pan. Boil vigorously at a roiling boil until setting point – around 15 minutes. Keep stirring to prevent the mixture from sticking.
- Check whether the jam is going to set by placing a teaspoonful on the chilled saucer: if when cooled it holds its shape when you push it with your finger, it is ready. If not, boil it a little longer and check again.
- Add the chopped oregano, season the jam to taste and then transfer into the warm, sterilised jars.
- Seal with the lids, covering each lid with a disc of waxed paper, and allow to cool.
- If you can resist it, you can store this preserve for up to three months in a cool, dark cupboard. Keep it in the refrigerator once opened.
Recipe extracted from One-Pot Gourmet Gardener by Cinead McTernan, photography by Jason Ingram. Published by Frances Lincoln
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