Green Tomato Spicy Relish

What do you do with green tomatoes, tomatillos, and cucumbers? I decided to make relish with these. I have a great recipe for cucumber relish, so I decided to modify it a bit to use all the fresh vegetables that I had. It is really yummy.

Step 1: Ingredients

Ingredients
8 green tomatoes
8 tomatillos
2 onions
1 bulb garlic
4 cucumbers
2 apples
2 jalepenos
2 serrano chilis
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon peppercorns
1 teaspoon mustard seed
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon hot pepper flakes
2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ginger
4 C sugar
2 C vinegar

Tools
Canning jars (clean and sterilized)
Canning lids
Large stock pot for canning
Oven mitt
Canning tongs
Knife
Cutting board
Blender
Stock pot
Gauze or spice bag (optional)

Prep Time
This whole process took me about 1 1/2 hours.

Step 2: Chop the Vegetables

I used my blender to chop all the vegetables. Prep the vegetable and cut into large chunks. Place small batches in your blender and pulse 3 or 4 time to chop. Be careful not to blend too much. You want small chunks.

Put all the vegetables in your stock pot.

Note that you may want to adjust the amount of chili peppers or hot pepper you add. We like pretty spicy food and the hot peppers I bought were very hot. So this batch was very spicy. You can also adjust the amount of sugar in the relish if you prefer your relish to be more tart.

Step 3: Add the Other Ingredients and Cook

Add the sugar, vinegar, and about 1 C water along with the spice bag. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours, or until the relish has the consistency you like.

Note that you may want to adjust the amount of chili peppers or hot pepper you add. We like pretty spicy food and the hot peppers I bought were very hot. So this batch was very spicy. You can also adjust the amount of sugar in the relish if you prefer your relish to be more tart.

Step 4: Can the Relish

Fill the canning jars to about 1/2 inch from the top. Wipe the rims of the jars to remove any relish. Put the lids on and screw tightly.

Put the jars in the canner or stockpot. Add enough water to cover the tops of the jars. Put the lid on and bring to a boil. Boil for 15 minutes.

Step 5: Remove the Jars of Relish and Store

Remove the jars from the canning "bath" with the canning tongs. If you do not have canning tongs (I highly recommend these and you can usually find them pretty cheap at Goodwill), drain off water and remove the jars using oven mitts. Put the jars on a towel and allow to dry/cool.

Test to make sure they seal. If any of your jars don't seal, you can boil them again. I have never had any issues with my relish sealing the first time.

Label your relish and enjoy!