Tomato Relish
4 large ripe tomatoes
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds
1 large yellow onion
1/4 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to adjust at the end
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
One 4-ounce jar of chopped pimientos
1/2 teaspoon vodka
Sugar to taste
Put tomatoes into a large saucepan. Add water to cover tomatoes by at
least a quarter-inch. Take tomatoes back out of water. (The reason for
doing that is so that you have just the right amount of water.)
Bring water to a vigorous boil. While you’re waiting for the water to boil,
chop the onion finely.
When the water is boiling, add tomatoes, return to a boil, cook for about
5 seconds, then remove tomatoes from water and slip off their skins.
Discard the skins, cut out and discard any stems or woody cores, and
chop tomatoes into fairly-small pieces. (An easy way to do that is to put
the tomatoes into a bowl and chop them using the knife from a mezzaluna.
You don’t want to lose the juices.)
Pour water out of saucepan and add grapeseed oil. Heat over medium-high
heat for about 30 seconds, then add the mustard seeds. Cook, stirring
frequently, until the mustard seeds start to pop. Lower heat to medium and
add the onion and salt. Cook until onion turns translucent. Add vinegar and
cook for 30 seconds. Add everything but the sugar, and stir well. Cook for
about one minute, then remove from heat and add sugar and salt to taste.
NOTES:
The tomatoes should be just barely cooked, so they retain their texture
The relish should have discernible sweet and sour notes.
The vodka can be omitted if you’re a non-drinker, but it helps bring out
the flavor of the tomatoes.
Naturally, this works best with tomatoes which are at the height of
flavor. But even off-season tomatoes will work here, though you might have
to punch up the flavor with more vinegar and sugar. If your tomatoes are
very ripe, you might not need any sugar at all.
Source: USENET rec.food.cooking - 2010