Showing posts with label chutney. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chutney. Show all posts
I think one of my favourite vegetables has to be beetroot! I just adore it. Steamed, roasted . . . pickled, fried, you name it. Its right there up on the top of my "Love" list!
Last week we were blessed with some fresh beetroot from a friend's garden and I was in beetroot heaven. I used some of it to make a small batch of this Beetroot Chutney!
When I moved over here to the UK in 2000 I went back to school and learned how to be a Chef at a local college. One of the first things we were taught to do was make chutney.
It is something I have never forgotten and which I have used a lot over these past 17 years.
We adore chutney in this house. Its so easy to make and goes very well with oodles of things . . . like cheese and crackers for instance . . . or cold meats.
The principles of making a chutney are pretty simple. You want a bit of sweet/sugar, a bit of acid/vinegar, a bit of heat/chilies, some spice/cinnamon, cumin, etc. and fruit/raisins, etc. . . . and the main ingredient.
Whatever it is you are wanting to use, like today's Beetroot, but also you can do it with mango, plums, tomatoes, whatever . . . the world is your oyster when it comes to making chutney!
Recipes for Eastern
‘chatneys’ begin to appear in cookbooks such as Eliza Acton’s Modern
Cookery for Private Families in the 19th century.
Some were fresh, almost a relish, and others were
preserved and similar to this beetroot chutney I am showing you today. The older recipes were not as sweet as the ready made chutney's we have become used to in modern times.
I kind of winged this when I was making it, hearkening back to what I was taught in my chef's course and this is what I came up with. We were both really pleased with the results.
What you see here is the bit that didn't fit into the jars. It is delicious. I could eat it simply with a spoon.
*Beetroot Chutney*
Makes 2 to 3 small jars
1 clove of garlic, bruised
splash of olive oil
Peel and chop your beetroot and onion. Heat a splash of olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the beetroot and the onions. Cook over low heat and sweat for about 15 minutes, taking care not to let it brown or burn, you just want it to have begun softening.
Add the remaining
ingredients. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a very slow simmer.
Cook, stirring occasionally, over very low heat for about 45 minutes
until thick and chutneyish.
If you think it is going too dry before it
is done you can add a splash of vinegar to keep it looking glossy and
moist. When it is done, spoon into 3 hot sterilized jars and seal
immediately while still hot. Store in a cool dark place.
I have decided that beetroot is not the most photogenic crayon in the box, but what the hey. Taste counts for a lot and this chutney is most delicious! Bon Appetit!
I somehow found myself with an abundance of summer plums this week. I had been sent some in my veggie box three weeks in a row . . . and we just hadn't gotten many eaten, and so I decided that I wanted to use them up pronto, before they went off.
I didn't feel like making a cake or a crumble . . . although to be sure those are very tasty things indeed. We have had rather a lot of them lately though . . .
I decided instead to make a tasty plum chutney. I ran across this delicious looking one of Nigel Slater's in book two of his Tender series . . . the fruit volume and so I decided to make that one. You all know how I feel about Nigel Slater . . . I love his cooking style and ethos . . . he is my all time favourite chef/person!
His recipes are never frou frou . . . they always turn out . . . and most importantly they are always delicious! He cooks the way I like to cook and the way I love to eat. What more could you ask for???
Chutney is one of those things that tastes fabulous right after you cook it . . . and then . . . magically within a few days it starts to taste better and better . . . it becomes positively scrummy, much like a stew and soup tastes infinitely better when ripened so it is with a chutney.
He doesn't let us know exactly how much it will really make in his recipe, but I did get two half litre Kilner Jars of the stuff, and then about 3/4 of a Bon Maman jar. Of course I could not resist tucking into the open jar today . . . even though I know it will taste even better in a few days time. Today it tasted rather jammy, and quite delicious. It went down well with a buttered piece of a Polish rye bloomer . . . some thinly sliced roasted ham . . . and a few shorn slices of a good and strong British Cheddar.
Perfection. Now this is good eating. Simple ingredients. Not a lot of effort, but maximum flavour. I can't wait to see how good it is in a few days time!!
I do so love a simple lunch . . . don't you???
*Nigel's Hot and Sweet Plum Chutney*
Makes several jam jar's worth
Printable Recipe
This gets better tasting as days go by. If you can do it, let it ripen for a couple of weeks. You will be rewarded with a real taste treasure. Perfect to serve with cold meats and cheeses.
750g of plums (about 1 1/2 pounds)
350g of onions (about 3/4 pound)
125g of raisins (about 3/4 cup)
250g of light muscovado sugar (1 1/4 cups)
1/2 tsp of crushed dried chillies
2 tsp yellow mustard seeds
150ml of apple cider vinegar (5 1/2 fluid ounces)
150ml of malt vinegar (5 1/2 fluid ounces)
a cinnamon stick broken in two
Halve the plums, discarding the stones. Peel and roughly chop the onions. Put the fruit and the onions into a large heavy bottomed saucepan. Add the remaining ingredients. Bring the mixture to the boil, then reduce the heat to low. Simmer on low heat, stirring occasionally, for about an hour. (DO not forget to stir it occasionally as it may catch if you don't and you don't want that to happen!) Pour into hot and sterilized jam jars. Seal.
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