Tomato Jam (with Goat Cheese)

As I've mentioned here before, we end up with what feels like 52 pounds of tomatoes every week, these days, and I am always searching for a new way to love them and make them scrumptious. After tasting some amazing tomato jam at the Imperial Hotel I decided that would be my next project. Where to find a recipe? Luckily, our real estate-agent-now-friend Marian offered up two great recipes for me to choose from. One called for Green Zebras, of which I had two pounds, so we were off to the races.

Tomato jams seem to fall into two categories - very, very sweet or slightly sweet and savory. I chose a recipe that looked like it had a savory component as more suited to our table. This particular recipe intrigued me with its mix of garlic, cumin, ginger and cinnamon (and of course sugar and honey).

After much dicing, grating, measuring and stirring I ended up with a pot full of fragrant, bubbling tomatoes.

It took a little more than 40 minutes of simmering with the occasional stir to end up with remarkably tasty jam that pairs terrifically with a milder chevre and some water crackers! And... I randomly met another tomato jam fan at brunch yesterday who received the smaller jar to take home as a prize!

Recipe after the jump...

RECIPE:

2 pounds tomatoes*, cut into ½” dice

½ cup honey

½ cup apple cider vinegar

¼ cup sugar

1 Tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger

1 garlic clove, very finely minced

One 1” cinnamon stick

1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Salt to taste

1)   In a medium saucepan, combine the diced tomatoes with the honey, vinegar, sugar, ginger, garlic, cinnamon stick, cumin and cayenne.

2)   Bring to a boil and simmer over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until thick and jammy, about 40 minutes.

3)   Discard the cinnamon stick. Season the jam with salt to taste.

4)   Transfer the jam to a bowl or jar and let cool.

* The original recipe came from July 2010 Food and Wine and called for Green Zebras which makes it very pretty. I’ve made it with a variety of heirlooms – some of the yellows are particularly nice because they tend to be sweet. The original recipe called for it to be served with hush puppies; it’s also good with corn fritters, fresh mozzarella or goat cheese on baguette slices and as a condiment on roast beef sandwiches.