Christmas chutney

'in the cauldron boil and bubble'

 Back in October, when I cleared away the tomato plants there was no time to turn the remaining fruit - reddish or still green - into chutney as I'd normally do. So I roasted them for a bit in the oven, then froze them away: now, needing freezer space, I've spent the evening realising their destiny. It's a long, hot process, reducing a pile of mixed fruit and veg into something that one hopes will be both tangy and semi-sweet. This is the recipe I usually use, with proportions expressed in parts:


A lachrymosity of onions


 2 parts tomatoes (green and red)
1 part chopped cooking apple
1 part diced onion
0.5 part sultanas (didn't have any today, so I used chopped-up dates and dried figs)
1 part soft brown sugar
sufficient vinegar to boil it all in
a teaspooon or two of chili flakes
2 big garlic cloves
a lump of root ginger, grated
2 tablespoons of mustard seed
salt

Tonight I used, by mistake, equal parts of tomato, onion and a mix of rhubarb and apple - luckily the proportions are not really crucial. The pan needs a lot of stirring, and I hasten the reduction process by scooping out excess liquid from the surface with a gravy ladle - this liquor is also bottled and makes a tasty ketchup. The result is perhaps a tad too sweet, but it's very tasty and will be great with a strong cheddar or well-flavoured ham.

Just-filled jars