Rhubarb is a brilliant chutney vegetable, so kiss goodbye to the rhubarb crumble that no one in the family likes and get ready for tasty, easy chutneys this spring!
In this house we really aren’t big rhubarb eaters, in fact, when my lovely mother-in-law came over with some fresh rhubarb that her and Toby had collected from her garden, my husband asked me what on earth was I going to do with it – with a silent plea to NOT make rhubarb crumble! The thing is, the rhubarb was so fresh, and Toby had spent a wonderful afternoon with Grandma collecting it for us – we had to do something. So, chutney.
Not many people think of rhubarb as a brilliant chutney vegetable (yes, its a veggie, not a fruit! Call me google.) but it is! It makes the most amazing chutney to accompany meats like ham or gammon and don’t even get me started on cheese. Yummy!!
Here’s the chutney I have made this time (and I’m saving some for Edie’s christening next month to serve with the cheese board).
You will need:
6oz rhubarb, peeled, trimmed and cut into small pieces
6oz pears, peeled, cored and cut into quarters
1 small apple, quartered and cored
2/3 cup dried apricots (plus boiling water to cook them in)
1 tsp ginger paste
3 cloves garlic
2 cups white malt vinegar
2-3 tsp salt
1 cup golden granulated sugar
Chop the apricots into small pieces and place in a small bowl. Cover with boiling water and cook in the microwave (750w) for 4mins. Allow to cool slightly and drain.
Meanwhile, place the apple, pear, rhubarb and garlic in a food processor and roughly chop. Place in a bowl and add the ginger paste, sugar, salt, malt vinegar and apricots.
Chop the rhubarb into small chunks – and peel it. You don’t have to peel rhubarb BUT it helps to make it less tough when you do.
The best thing about chutney is that it looks awful until it is cooked, but once it’s done – wow!
Cook in the microwave for roughly 2 hours, stirring every 10 mins. I like to keep cooking this until I have a thick spoon-able consistency, but if you find you get there before 2 hours, just take it out and allow it to cool.
To sterilise jam jars, you add freshly boiled water to the empty jar and leave to cool until you can tip it out. Simples.
Enjoy with cheese, gammon, ham or chicken! (I LOVE this with my mum’s coca-cola ham or a real strong mature cheddar. Mm-mmm!)
Harriet x
