With my latest exploration of pork mince with more Western flavours, pork burgers were on the menu the other night, and I decided to make a chutney to slather all over those bad boys. This chutney, like most of my recipes, is invented by putting together ingredients that I know will work, and simply tweaking the finer details as it’s being made.
This chutney has a lot of flavour, but it’s not overpowering. You want it to complement the pork, not drown it out. It’s lovely zing and sweetness worked beautifully with the pork burgers (just make a patty with some fried onion an pork mince) and also worked superbly the next day for lunch of ham cheese and pineapple melts. Use a smoked ham and see how amazingly the chutney compliments it. The fennel is a bit of a hero in the chutney with the soft aniseed notes it imparts.
This makes about 3-4 200ml jars worth. Store in sterilised jars, or refrigerate in tupperware. It also makes a lovely, spontaneous, no-reason gift for someone.
Ingredients
- 1kg red apples
- 3 carrots
- 2 onions
- 50ml cider vinegar, plus a little extra
- 50g caster sugar
- tablespoon of fennel seeds
- shake of ground turmeric
- shake of smoky paprika
- shake of ground cumin
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- small handful of coriander, chopped
- salt and pepper, to season
Directions
- Grate the flesh from the kilo of apples. Grate the carrots and the onions. Place the carrots into a large saucepan over medium heat and add the cider vinegar.
- Stir to distribute the vinegar evenly and cook until it begins to simmer.
- After about 5 minutes, add the onions. And then after a further 5 minutes, the apple. Season well with salt and pepper.
- Add the fennel seeds and the spices. When I say shake as a quantity, I mean a nice shake from the jar so that the top layer of mixture is covered in the spice. You should be able to taste the spices, but they should be subtle, not screaming. Stir through. Let simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally so nothing catches on the bottom of the pan. You may need to top up with cider vinegar or a cup of water if your liquid is running out. Taste it to see if vinegar or water is better. You want it to be zingy.
- Next, add the garlic and a small handful of torn coriander. The coriander just gives certain mouthfuls a different burst of flavour, it is not an ever-present flavour in the chutney. Keep cooking until the chutney becomes nice and soft, approximately another 5 minutes.
- Serve warm if desired or cool. Keep in the refrigerator if not jarring, and consume within two weeks.
