Thanks to Amanda Hesser's recipe, tomato jam is one of my go-to methods for using up the bounty of late summer tomatoes. Last summer, I experimented with the recipe and came up with an easy and tasty variation.
The tried-and-true Roasted Tomato Jam is still a winning way to transform the tomato harvest into a sweet, tasty jam. In last summer’s research, I discovered a dump-everything-in-a-pot technique that’s less fussy. As I was musing on this new recipe, I decided on garam masala, the Indian spice blend of cinnamon, clove, cardamom, cumin and coriander (among others) for warm notes.
Subbing brown sugar for part of the white gave some backbone to the seasonings, but it did darken the end product. If you’re looking for jewel-like tones in your jam, you can always use all white sugar.
And because peppers come in at the same time as tomatoes, I tossed a bell pepper in the mix, too.
The result is more chunky chutney than jam, and that’s ok with me. It’s a fine spread for your morning toast. A bit of dairy, like a shmear of farmer’s cheese offers tang and creaminess to offset the sweet spicy jam. I can imagine mixing the jam with mustard and mayo to add a layer of flavor to your ham sandwich. I’m sure there’s lots of ways to go here.
Give it a try and let me know what you think. —Lucy Mercer
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