At this time of year it can be hard to keep up with some veg…beans, tomatoes, courgettes and so on. They just keep coming! One way to deal with gluts is to make chutney, which is actually very straightforward and well worth a try.
The basic premise is that you boil up the veg in vinegar with sugar and spices. One of our favourite recipes is below…Make sure you’re well prepared with sterilised glass jars before you start (wash jars in warm soapy water, rinse in hot water and dry them off in an oven at 140 degrees celsius.) As a general rule, after you’ve made the chutney and popped it into jars you should store them in a cool dark place for 4-6 weeks to allow them to mature and get those flavours going. They make good little gifts.
Runner Bean Chutney
This is something of a classic for veg growers as runner beans always seem to produce a real glut.
Ingredients:
1.5kg runner beans from your garden
1kg onions, finely chopped
1l vinegar, preferably malt
5tbsp cornflour
1tbsp turmeric
1 tbsp mustard seeds
1 tbsp mustard powder
800g demerera sugar
350g soft brown sugar
Method:
- Cook the runner beans in boiling salted water for two minutes and drain them.
- Put the runner beans into cold water, and then drain again to stop them from cooking further.
- Simmer half the vinegar with the onions in a large, heavy-based pan for 20 mins.
- Add the beans.
- Mix the conrflour with a tablespoon or two of the remaining vinegar.
- Add to the bean mix along with the turmeric, mustard and mustard seeds and remaining vinegar.
- Simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add sugar and stir it in to dissolve it.
- Bring the whole mixture to the boil (keep stirring!)
- Once it’s back at the boil, turn the heat down and simmer it for 1 hour.
- Pour into your sterilised jars and seal.