Reynard
Guru
- Location
- Cambridgeshire, UK
Since we're only a month away from Christmas, and if you are a chutney enthusiast or perhaps looking for an idea for a homemade gift, may I present to you all...
Reynard's "Wang In Whatever You've Got" Chutney
This is based on a very old Marguerite Patten recipe for plum chutney, but I'll use whatever I've got to hand, whether it's a glut of apricots, beetroot acquired on yellow sticker, windfall apples or those last few green tomatoes that never seem to ripen. The beauty of this recipe is that you can be as creative as you want to be. The key to a good chutney is balancing the flavours between sweet, sharp and hot, sticking to the quantity of fruit & veg vs sugar, vinegar and salt, and cooking it slowly down to the right consistency.
2 lbs fruit & veg, after peeling, de-stoning, coring, chopping etc or grating in the case of root veg. A minimum of one quarter of this i.e. 8 oz should be onion.
4 oz dried fruit e.g. mixed dried fruit, candied peel, sultanas or raisins
Half a large head of garlic, roughly chopped
Thumb-sized (or more if wanted) piece of root ginger, cut into small slivers
1 tablespoon yellow mustard seed
1 teaspoon chilli flakes (or to taste)
2 large bay leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 pint vinegar
12 oz granulated sugar
Put the prepared fruit & veg in a large pan, along with the dried fruit, garlic, ginger, mustard seed, chilli, bay leaves and salt. Pour over the vinegar and cook gently until the fruit etc is soft, stirring every now and again. When the fruit is cooked, add the sugar and stir until dissolved.
Turn up the heat a little, and get the mixture to a medium simmer. Stir occasionally to check nothing is catching on the bottom of the pan. When the chutney has reduced by about half, you will need to start to keep a closer eye on it. You may wish to check for seasoning at this stage, adding more chilli etc. The chutney is cooked to the right consistency when it looks a lot like jam, and if you drag a wooden spoon along the bottom of the pan, you will leave a clear channel with no liquid in it.
Decant into clean jars and seal while still piping hot. (A jam funnel works a treat here to prevent messes.)
Some chutneys can be eaten more or less right away, others are better after being left to mature for a month or so - or even longer. The heat from the ginger and chilli will mellow with keeping, so there's no need to be shy if you like it fiery. You can also add other spices into the mix; star anise and cassia bark work pretty well, especially with stone fruit, but do fish out all the bits before decanting into jars.
Particular favourites here chez Casa Reynard are as follows:
1) 3 parts apricot and / or nectarine to 1 part onion, plus a heap load of chilli but omit the ginger
2) 3 parts yellow plums to 1 part onion, omit the chilli, but add a generous quantity of fresh and crystalized root ginger
3) 2 part red tomato to 1 part cooking apple and 1 part onion, omit the ginger, but keep the chilli, and swap granulated sugar for dark muscovado
4) 1 part pineapple, 1 part mango, 1 part cranberry, 1 part onion
5) 1 part green tomato, 1 part red pepper, 1 part cooking apple, 1 part onion
Happy chutneying!!!
Reynard's "Wang In Whatever You've Got" Chutney
This is based on a very old Marguerite Patten recipe for plum chutney, but I'll use whatever I've got to hand, whether it's a glut of apricots, beetroot acquired on yellow sticker, windfall apples or those last few green tomatoes that never seem to ripen. The beauty of this recipe is that you can be as creative as you want to be. The key to a good chutney is balancing the flavours between sweet, sharp and hot, sticking to the quantity of fruit & veg vs sugar, vinegar and salt, and cooking it slowly down to the right consistency.
2 lbs fruit & veg, after peeling, de-stoning, coring, chopping etc or grating in the case of root veg. A minimum of one quarter of this i.e. 8 oz should be onion.
4 oz dried fruit e.g. mixed dried fruit, candied peel, sultanas or raisins
Half a large head of garlic, roughly chopped
Thumb-sized (or more if wanted) piece of root ginger, cut into small slivers
1 tablespoon yellow mustard seed
1 teaspoon chilli flakes (or to taste)
2 large bay leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 pint vinegar
12 oz granulated sugar
Put the prepared fruit & veg in a large pan, along with the dried fruit, garlic, ginger, mustard seed, chilli, bay leaves and salt. Pour over the vinegar and cook gently until the fruit etc is soft, stirring every now and again. When the fruit is cooked, add the sugar and stir until dissolved.
Turn up the heat a little, and get the mixture to a medium simmer. Stir occasionally to check nothing is catching on the bottom of the pan. When the chutney has reduced by about half, you will need to start to keep a closer eye on it. You may wish to check for seasoning at this stage, adding more chilli etc. The chutney is cooked to the right consistency when it looks a lot like jam, and if you drag a wooden spoon along the bottom of the pan, you will leave a clear channel with no liquid in it.
Decant into clean jars and seal while still piping hot. (A jam funnel works a treat here to prevent messes.)
Some chutneys can be eaten more or less right away, others are better after being left to mature for a month or so - or even longer. The heat from the ginger and chilli will mellow with keeping, so there's no need to be shy if you like it fiery. You can also add other spices into the mix; star anise and cassia bark work pretty well, especially with stone fruit, but do fish out all the bits before decanting into jars.
Particular favourites here chez Casa Reynard are as follows:
1) 3 parts apricot and / or nectarine to 1 part onion, plus a heap load of chilli but omit the ginger
2) 3 parts yellow plums to 1 part onion, omit the chilli, but add a generous quantity of fresh and crystalized root ginger
3) 2 part red tomato to 1 part cooking apple and 1 part onion, omit the ginger, but keep the chilli, and swap granulated sugar for dark muscovado
4) 1 part pineapple, 1 part mango, 1 part cranberry, 1 part onion
5) 1 part green tomato, 1 part red pepper, 1 part cooking apple, 1 part onion
Happy chutneying!!!
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