Orange chutney
Last night I indulged. I poured myself a whiskey, sat down at my kitchen table and gingerly cued Frank Sinatra’s Christmas carols. Whilst I awaited the protests of my flatmates (which strangely enough never came) I spent the evening sketching. I sketched with purpose, in the hope that from the collection of scribbles on the gridded pages before me an idea or two would emerge and happily materialise into a Christmas present or two (with a little bit of organisation and elbow grease of course).
Whilst I sketched I found my mind wandered. It wove its way through the year, through the days and weeks which for me defined 2011. As summer became autumn and autumn winter, the pictures which formed revealed a year overflowing. Overflowing with the company of the people I love the most, of growth and change, of guitars and ukuleles, of beautiful food and celebration, of exercise and conversely of inactivity(!), of photography and exhibitions, of travel abroad and travel closer to home and of things exciting and new and full of promise.
But before bidding farewell to 2011 we celebrate Christmas, which with a bit of luck equates to an overflow of more good food and good company and a serious dose of Christmas carols (out come the ukuleles, guitars and champagne-laced singing voices!). And when the time comes for Santa to do his rounds, this year my gifts will come mostly from my toils in the kitchen. This orange chutney will have its place under our tree and is perfect accompanied with some good cheese and a glass or two of wine.
So here’s to another year ending, and to a new one beginning. I have a feeling it’s going to be a good one!
Ingredients
Makes approx 10 jars
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- 16 oranges
- 8 apples, cored and finely diced
- 5 red chillies, deseeded and finely sliced
- 400g ginger, peeled and grated
- ½ cup currants
- 2 tbsp cloves
- 1 tbsp cardamom seeds
- 5 bay leaves
- 75g salt
- 1.4kg brown sugar
- 2 litres malt vinegar
Method
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- 1. Peel the oranges with a peeler so that the pith is left behind. Slice the peel finely – I ended up with fine strips which looked as though they had been julienned. Peel the pith from the oranges, cut them in half then slice them finely.
- 2. Place all the ingredients into a large pot (I used two pots) and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook for several hours until the mixture reduces and becomes thick.
- 3. Sterilise the jars in the oven at 100ºC for half and hour and pour boiling water over the lids.
- 4. Spoon the mixture into jars and seal. The longer you leave the chutney the more the flavours develop and mature. Leave it for at least a month before opening and store in the fridge once opened.
Good to see an optimist, positive about the year about to finish and the one to come
. Yes a good year, this one, and surely the next one too!
Never had orange chutney, what do you use it with?
Ciao
Alessandra
http://alessandrazecchini.blogspot.com/
Hi Alessandra!
Lovely to get your message! I had never had orange chutney before either so I have only just begun to experiment what it goes with. So far I can confirm that it is delicious with blue cheese! I can imagine it would also go well with avocados or as an accompaniment to frittata or quiche.
Buon Appetito! =)
Emma
Hi Emma!
Greetings from the Netherlands
We’re definitely going to try this recipe for Christmas…. we’ve always loved the traditional British Christmas traditions, decorations and food – but we can’t stand orange marmalade!
I’m sure this chutney recipe is the perfect replacement – especially with a nice cheese platter…. thanks so much!
Best wishes,
Linda
Love the sound of that chutney, my try it out with some tangelos since there is a lot around.
Sounds like a beautiful night!
Beautiful words, Emma! And I love the photo of the spoon just below the ingredients. (and I love Frank Sinatra too hehe)
Hi Linda,
Thank you for your message all the way from the Netherlands! I hope that you enjoy the chutney over Christmas – do be sure to try it with a nice blue cheese.
Merry Christmas!
Emma
Hi Alli!
Yes – I think it would be delicious made with tangelos! Let us know how it works out!
Merry Christmas!
Emma
Thanks for your lovely comment Alisha!
I’m glad you share my secret love for Frank Sinatra – you must give his Christmas carols a go if you haven’t already!!
Merry Christmas!
Emma
Now I want to drink Whiskey and listen to Frank
Happy Christmas!
Hi Renee,
Thanks for your message. No better time of year to drink whiskey and listen to Frank!
Merry Christmas!
Emma
hi there, this looks great. can you tell me, will the bay leaves and cloves and cardamon seeds (i am assuming these are all whole), will they soften or fall apart, or do you have to remove them?
thanks so much! great blog.