We’re just back from a couple of weeks in Northern Ireland. Traveling with carry-on luggage meant that we couldn’t bring back much Irish food. But we did return with some culinary inspiration. This is the first in a series of posts in our efforts to re-create some of the tastes of Ireland.
During a week based in Belfast, we took a daytrip by train to Whitehead to walk the Victorian Way to Blackhead Light (above). On the village end of the promenade, Shores Whitehead (37 Marine Parade) introduced us to ‶Ballymaloe.″ The cafe must have purchased the condiment by the caseload, as it appeared frequently on the short menu of toasts and sandwiches.
‶It’s a tomato relish,″ the young woman behind the counter told us when we confessed that we’d never heard of it.
Once alerted to the existence of Ballymaloe, we began to see it everywhere on casual menus. We knew the name from the Ballymaloe Cooking School, which we wrote about here. But the school and the relish have a few degrees of separation.
The evolution of an Irish kitchen staple
Ballymaloe Relish was orginally made in the 1940s by Myrtle Allen using surplus greenhouse tomatoes grown by her husband Ivan in Shanagarry, County Cork. In 1964, Myrtle opened a restaurant in her dining room at Ballymaloe House. (She became the first Irish woman chef to earn a Michelin star.) Daughter-in-law Darina Allen started the Ballymaloe Cooking School on the property. In the 1990s, Myrtle’s daughter Yasmin Hyde began making the relish for sale from her own kitchen. In 2008, Yasmin’s daughters Maxine and Rose joined her at Ballymaloe Foods (ballymaloefoods.ie).
Ballymaloe Relish is just one of many highly-regarded products the company makes. Naturally, they jealously guard the recipe. That hasn’t stopped home cooks from speculating. Although the recipe we ultimately came up with has one ingredient not listed on the side of Ballymaloe jars (apples) and lacks one ingredient that is listed (mustard seed), we think it’s good enough to be Ballymaloe-adjacent. Basically it’s a tangy chutney with a bit of a kick.
In her book, One Dish Feeds All, Darina Allen adds Ballymaloe to cheese fondue. We liked the pairing of cheese with the chutney-like relish, so we combined them in a grilled cheese sandwich. We used coarsely grated aged Irish cheddar, Irish butter, and well-buttered slices of brioche.
Ballymaloe-adjacent relish
Makes 4 cups
Ingredients
- 4 cups peeled and chopped tomatoes
- 2 cups peeled, seeded, and chopped apples
- 2 medium yellow onions, chopped
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 1 cup raisins
- 1¼ cups granulated sugar
- 1¾ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon hot pepper flakes
Directions
Place all ingedients in a heavy-bottomed pot. Stir to dissolve sugar and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook about 90 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent burning. The mixture will slowly reduce from a thin, bubbling liquid to a thick relish. If pieces appear too big, mash with a potato masher. (Photos below show the mixture when it begins to cook and when it’s nearly done.)
Allow mixture to cool and refrigerate overnight. The next day, adjust seasoning to taste with extra spices or salt. Can in clean jars or refrigerate and consume within a few months.
