Autumn Chutney

Odds & sods, that’s what my kitchen is currently full of. To be more specific, I’ve got a lot of odd fruits & veggies from the garden as thing’s begin to wind down for the Autumn & new thing’s begin to take on life. A glut of autumnal apples, the last of the ripening tomatoes, some cured onions, a handful of chillies… a real eclectic mix. When the last harvests come around every year, it’s tradition for me to turn all of my surplus garden produce into a big batch of autumn chutney, enough to see me through the winter. What better way to use up what’s left from the summer growing season than a hearty chutney! A chutney so good that I continue to make it year after year (this coming from a girl who makes a lot of chutneys!).

Now, it just wouldn’t be autumn without jars of this in the cupboard. Each year will be a slight variation on the last, depending on exactly what it is that I have to use up but this year, I think I nailed the perfect mix of homegrown fruits & veggies for me. Sweet, tangy & warming this adds a welcome hit of flavour to liven up dishes in the cold winter days to come. Plus, like a fine wine, once bottled up this chutney only gets better with age as it’s flavours meld & mingle together into one, I like to tuck a few jars of this away for Christmas. Like most chutneys, there’s an awful lot of weighing & chopping involved but very little else effort wise, plus you can adapt to your hearts content, use what you have, even down to green tomatoes!