Chutneys, pickles and all that jazz

Despite having many preserves in the cupboard and not getting through them fast enough I have still been indulging in a little pickling/ chutney making.

Spiced apple chutney was a real success paired with simple slow cooked (bone out) shoulder of pork. It provides a good balance of sharpness from the vinegar, sweetness from the fruit and spices from the... well you get the picture.

I used a recipe from Marguerite Patten's The Basic Basics Jams, Preserves and Chutneys
Here it is in its original form but I added a little more vinegar as I was worried it might end up being too apple sauce-y (also good but different):
Ingredients:

• 450g chopped onions
• 300ml white malt vinegar
• 900g apples, peeled and cored and diced into 2cm inch dice
• 1tsp mixed spice
• 350g soft light brown sugar
• 100g raisins
• seasoning to taste

Simmer the onions in half the vinegar for 10 minutes, add the rest of the ingredients. Stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved and then simmer steadily, stirring occasionally until you have the consistency of thick jam. Check for seasoning, spoon into steralised jars and you’re good to go. I steralise my jars by microwaving them slightly damp in the microwave.

One learning I had was not use up the boozy fruit from making 'fruits of the forest' vodka (used a supermarket frozen bag) by putting them in a trifle. They are overwhelmingly vodka flavoured and make the dish inedible unless you like the taste of neat vodka. Boiling them up and creating a 'jus'/ 'compote' and hopefully burning off some of the booze may be a possible option.  I only hope the vodka tastes as much of fruit as the fruit tasted of vodka. Not a personal culinary success.

Lovely Rye on a gorgeous sunny 17 degree day

It is also time to crack open the beetroot chutney, paired with horesradish, mackerel and watercress. (We picked up a couple of mackerel in Rye which we visited for the Scallop festival - more a top billing on restaurant menus than a real festival but lovely none the less). The beetroot chutney should also work with goats cheese - the unpickled version being a classic combination.  Once back from Sicily, I feel a salmon, beetroot and goats cheese tart coming on...