Want to can your tomato and chile harvest? Here's a great recipe that will use up your abundance of Heirloom tomatoes and chiles. This is kind of like Rotel, but WAY better as it's homegrown!
INGREDIENTS
- 12 cups cored, peeled, and quartered Heirloom Tomatoes*
- 1 Onion, finely chopped
- 1-2 Cups of Diced Roasted Hatch Green Chile
(or you can also use fresh Jalapeños or other hot peppers – use more or less to taste, we like it spicy!) - 3 Sweet Peppers, finely chopped
(use Pimento Peppers, Bell peppers, Banana Peppers, or other sweet peppers, mix it up!) - 1 tbsp Canning Salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dry oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander or cumin
- Citric acid to add to jars: 1/4 teaspoon for each pint (1/2 teaspoon for quarts) OR you can also use fresh lemon juice in place of Citric Acid: 1 tablespoon bottled lemon juice for pints (2 tablespoons for quarts)
DIRECTIONS
* To core and peel tomatoes: Wash tomatoes, boil water in your large pot (don't fill to the top, leave room for tomatoes!). Add as many whole tomatoes that will fit in a wire basket with handles. Leave them in the boiling water for about 30 seconds until the skins start to crack and curl. Then dump them into a large bowl, pick out a couple tomatoes at a time and peel them (sometjimes a paring knife will help you peel off the skins, and also to core them.
Clean and remove the stem from the chile peppers (leave the seeds for extra spiciness), then finely chop the peppers.Put all ingredients in large non-reactive pot (such as an enamel or stainless steel pot), bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stir it occasionally.
To clean, hot, pint canning jars, (we like to boil them first in the canner,) add 1/4 tsp. citric acid or 1 TB. lemon juice (if using quart jars, add 1/2 tsp. citric acid or 2 TB. lemon juice).
Then ladle the mixture into the jars. Clean around rims with a clean cloth, then add new lids, then screw the rings on (not too tight).
Add jars to canner, cover, bring to a boil and process for 40 minutes for pints (50 minutes for quarts) at a soft boil. Remove jars and place on a towel-lined counter and let them cool 12-24 hours, do not touch or move the jars during this time. Remove the rings before storing, and be sure to check lids to be sure they’ve sealed by gently trying to lift them up with your fingers. Refrigerate any that didn’t seal and eat it for dinner! :)
Happy preserving!
