recipe

TOMATO JAM written by Melanie Crownover photographed by Joe Worthem

M

ore local food trucks than ever before will be serving up seasonal fare during this year’s Gumtree Festival. To get your taste buds ready for the day, pick up some fresh tomatoes and try your hand at this tomato jam recipe — it’s the secret ingredient in the pork belly melt sandwich sold by Brunch Box food truck. “We’re thinking about bottling it someday because we sell it alone off the truck in coffee cups to a lot of customers,” owner J.D. Dill said. “This recipe is wide open [to interpretation] because tomatoes are such a blank canvas that take on tastes of what you add. The brightness of the peppers and lemon juice in this help cool you down in the summer, and we switch to a cinnamon-nutmeg mixture to give it a warm flavor in winter.” Dill suggests pairing the sweet and tangy jam with a salty meat dish or smoky bacon to make it even more savory, or try adding more garlic and some cream to create a pasta sauce.

Brunch Box Tomato Jam 2½ pounds ripe tomatoes, diced 1 cup sugar 3 serrano peppers, minced Juice and zest of 1 lemon ¼ cup apple cider vinegar 2 teaspoons salt 3 garlic cloves, minced Toss tomatoes and sugar together in a nonreactive pot (such as stainless steel), and let sit for 10 minutes. Add all other ingredients, and bring to a boil. Lower heat, and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Recipe makes about 1 pint of jam. Store in refrigerator.

56 INVITATION | May 2018