I simply adore this jam. It works with uh, everything. Spaghettis and lamb chops and smoked cheese. For the adventurous, try it warm with vanilla ice cream.
– 2 large organic shallots, peeled and sliced very thin
– butter
– about 1 cup brown sugar (to taste)
– about 1 tsp salt (to taste)
– 1 tsp bright red chili powder
– 1 tsp dark red chili powder
– 1 tsp ground ginger
– 2-3 good shakes ground cloves
– 3-4 good shakes cinnamon
– splash or two balsamic vinegar (to taste)
– 1.5 lbs very ripe tomatoes (I like heirloom/ugly varieties), roughly chopped
1) Cook shallots over a very low heat in the butter until they’re translucent and a little browned. Stir regularly. Turn up the heat at the last minute to scorching and crisp the bottom layer of shallots. Do not stir and do not burn. When shallots at the bottom are crisped, quickly stir and turn off the heat. Let cool a little.
2) Add other ingredients. Mix thoroughly.
3) Cook over lowest heat possible for 1-2 hours, until jamlike consistency is reached. Taste frequently and adjust seasonings (salt & vinegar) as desired. Be sure to blow on jam carefully before tasting, as jam will burn your tongue.
3) The jam is done when it’s very dark brown but not black, very sticky, and tastes like heaven. You can jar it like other preserves if you wish, or it will keep up to a week in the fridge.
All of my recipes are licensed under CC BY-NC-SA.
not very alice 
Blot
September 5, 2011
“Be sure to blow on jam carefully before tasting, as jam will burn your tongue.”
Excellent advice.
I’m trying this next week as I have no clue about vacuum sealing and ‘all that’ – will make a nice gift to soften up the in-laws, methinks. 😉 Thanks for the recipe!
Alice M.
September 8, 2011
I hope it turns out well! Blame me if it doesn’t 😉