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This recipe is from my latest cookbook acquisition, which is squeezed into the already tight bookcase. It really is a fab book. I was so excited once I opened it. It is so colourful and quirky and overflowing with photos (a must in my book, no pun intended!). The book is Leon 2 and you just have to buy it. You will love it too, I just know you will!
This is the second book by the Leon Restaurant of which there are now nine in total. I can see why they are so popular, their food is scrummy! They like to cook seasonally and care about using only the highest quality ingredients, which is a good rule of thumb for all of us, although I must say I do fall down on eating seasonally. I do buy seasonally up to a point, then I decide I want to pretend it is Summer and all that will satisfy is some Mediterranean inspired food. I do like to pretend that Winter isn't lasting all of 6 months here in Scotland. It is self-delusional, I know.
I will be trying out a lot of the recipes from this book, but I decided to start of with a chutney. I do like to have chutney to enjoy with a cheese board or pasties over the winter.Here are a few others to drool over:
* Roast Carrots & Fennel in Parmesan Breadcrumbs
* Raw Masala Carrot Dip
* Tuscan Beans with Sage
* Dalston Sweet Potato Curry
* Caramelized Pear Flambe
* Upside-Down Apple & Cardamom Tart
And now on to my chutney.
If you are looking for another chutney to try, try this apple and onion chutney.
Katie's 'Chuck-It-All-In Chutney'
2kg green tomatoes or ripe red tomatoes
450g onions
450g apples
6 plums
2 fresh green chillies
255g raisins or currants, or a mixture
1 level tablespoon salt
450g brown sugar
6 cloves of garlic
a 5cm piece of fresh ginger
2 cinnamon sticks
10 cloves
1.2 litres malt vinegar, or any other vinegar
1. Chop the tomatoes and onions finely. Core the apples and stone the plums, then chop finely (you can leave the skin on the apples). Deseed and chop the chillies.
2. Put all the chopped fruit, vegetables and chillies in a big pan, along with the raisins or currants, salt and sugar. Crush the garlic and add to the pan. Stir well.
3. Wrap the ginger and spices in a muslin square, or an old tea towel, and tie with string, leaving the ends long enough to tie to the pan handle so that the bundle can be removed easily. (Or you can use a 'pickling basket' if you have one.) Add your spice bundle to the pan with the vinegar.
4. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and let the chutney simmer very gently for about 3 hours. Stir occasionally. You'll know the consistency is about right when you can drag a spoon through the mixture and it leaves a trail that doesn't immediately fill up with vinegar.
5. Pour the hot chutney into jars. Cover the chutney with a disc of waxed paper, wax side down, and seal tightly with a lid.
6. Label when cold, and DON'T EAT IT for AT LEAST a month, preferably two. The flavours mellow, and it's much more delicious. It will keep for at least a year, sealed. Once you have opened it, keep it in the fridge.
Makes 6-8 jars depending on the size (I filled 6 x 400g jars and another jar ¾ full)
Disclosure Statement: I received this book free from the publisher to review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
Katie's 'Chuck-It-All-In Chutney'
2kg green tomatoes or ripe red tomatoes
450g onions
450g apples
6 plums
2 fresh green chillies
255g raisins or currants, or a mixture
1 level tablespoon salt
450g brown sugar
6 cloves of garlic
a 5cm piece of fresh ginger
2 cinnamon sticks
10 cloves
1.2 litres malt vinegar, or any other vinegar
1. Chop the tomatoes and onions finely. Core the apples and stone the plums, then chop finely (you can leave the skin on the apples). Deseed and chop the chillies.
2. Put all the chopped fruit, vegetables and chillies in a big pan, along with the raisins or currants, salt and sugar. Crush the garlic and add to the pan. Stir well.
3. Wrap the ginger and spices in a muslin square, or an old tea towel, and tie with string, leaving the ends long enough to tie to the pan handle so that the bundle can be removed easily. (Or you can use a 'pickling basket' if you have one.) Add your spice bundle to the pan with the vinegar.
4. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and let the chutney simmer very gently for about 3 hours. Stir occasionally. You'll know the consistency is about right when you can drag a spoon through the mixture and it leaves a trail that doesn't immediately fill up with vinegar.
5. Pour the hot chutney into jars. Cover the chutney with a disc of waxed paper, wax side down, and seal tightly with a lid.
6. Label when cold, and DON'T EAT IT for AT LEAST a month, preferably two. The flavours mellow, and it's much more delicious. It will keep for at least a year, sealed. Once you have opened it, keep it in the fridge.
Makes 6-8 jars depending on the size (I filled 6 x 400g jars and another jar ¾ full)
Disclosure Statement: I received this book free from the publisher to review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
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