Well, summer is well and truly over. The days are getting noticeably shorter and despite some warm sunny days the autumn chill is creeping in of an evening. Time start making those warming casseroles and curries which make the house redolent of aromatic herbs and spices. It is also the time to use up the glut of ripening pears we harvested a couple of weeks ago. The poached pears served with my home made ice cream were delicious but there are only so many times I can serve them before Paul has had his fill. So chutney making it was last week. All these recipes were done on the stove top. I did find a couple of pressure cooker recipes but the whole thing about chutneys and jams is the reducing the liquids to a rich syrup which, in my humble opinion, a pressure cooker; by the nature of the way it cooks; can’t achieve. As this is the first time I’ve tried anything like this on the induction hob it was a bit of a learning curve in how to control the heat as I needed to keep a decent simmer going to reduce the liquids.
I started off with a pear and apricot recipe from Good Food which required 1½ hours cooking time and even then it was more liquid than syrup and, despite my constant stirring, it ended up burning to the bottom of the saucepan which; with it being loaded with sugar; took some elbow grease to get it clean. Fortunately it didn’t spoil the taste of the finished chutney. I ended up straining the liquid off and using it in a sweet and sour sauce the following day. Note to self, reduce the liquid content or try an easier method. After looking up a few more recipes and finding that they all used basically the same method and using far less liquid to start with I decided it was time to wing it with the remaining pears and whatever I could find in the fridge. I started with a simple pear and red onion into which I threw a handful of sultanas and then experimented and made some pear and red pepper with a Moroccan twist plus another handful of sultanas; well, I use them in a tagine don’t I?
Paul has quality tested each batch and given them his seal of approval. And I do have to say, the pear and red onion is a perfect accompaniment to crackers and blue Stilton cheese.
Pear and Apricot Chutney
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 kg ripe pears, peeled, cored and chopped.
- 450g ripe tomatoes, peeled and de-seeded
- 140g cooking apple, peeled, cored and chopped
- 140g onion, chopped
- 140g dried apricots
- 425g caster sugar
- 3 tbs fresh ginger, grated
- 2tsp salt
- 450mls apple cider vinegar
Method
- Combine all the ingredients except the pears in a large saucepan and bring to the boil
- Simmer uncovered on a low heat for 1 hour stirring every ten minutes.
- When the mixture is syrupy add the pears and simmer for a further 30 minutes.
- Leave to cool completely.
- Spoon into sterilized jars and store in a cool dark place until ready to use.
- Once opened keep in the fridge.
Pear and Red Onion
Ingredients
- 1kg ripe pears, peeled, cored and chopped
- 1 medium red onion, chopped
- 1 cup raisins
- 60g soft dark brown sugar
- 160mls apple cider vinegar
- Pinch of salt
Method
- Add all the ingredients to a large saucepan and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20-30 minutes or until the liquid is reduced to a syrup.
- Spoon into sterilized jars whilst still warm and seal.
- Store in a cool dark place. Will keep for up to six months.
Moroccan Pear and Red Pepper
Ingredients
- 1kg ripe pears, peeled, cored and chopped
- 1 red pepper, de-seeded and chopped
- 1 medium red onion, chopped
- 1 cup raisins
- 60g soft brown sugar
- 160mls apple cider vinegar
- 1tsp ras-al-hanout
- Pinch of salt
Method
- Add all the ingredients to a large saucepan and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the liquid has reduced to a syrup.
- Spoon into sterilized jars whilst still warm and seal.
- Store in a cool dark place.
- Once opened keep in the fridge.
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