Chilli Plum Chutney

Before I take up my favourite seat in front of the TV to watch the Olympic closing ceremony I thought I'd get this post on; I wrote it up a couple of days ago but I've been so taken up with sporting action I haven't had a minute to myself... (Incidentally, hasn't it been fabulous? I've loved every minute and have cried buckets whenever we've won gold, daft old bat that I am! Special mention to Andy Murray - I have at long last seen a Brit win a final at Wimbledon...!)

I’d been thinking recently about making some chilli tomato jam, but when I was in the market last week there were some lovely looking plums on the veg stall which set my mind wandering; would plum chutney with a chilli twist work? Well, I’d never know if I didn’t give it a go…so here it is.

It’s a gorgeous deep red from the plums and the red wine vinegar, but I must tell you the plums I bought, although a lovely colour, were absolutely the worst ones I have ever tried to stone; the stones seemed to have been embedded in the plums with the aid of superglue! As my fingers turned red, the air turned blue – I’m not ashamed to confess I said more than a few unladylike words…

However, recalcitrant plums aside, this was very easy and well worth doing if you happen to have a plum tree that has enjoyed our summer; well, when I say summer, what I actually mean is the few warm days that have constituted the British summer this year! The chilli I added gave just the right amount of oomph for us but if you like things a bit more spicy you can ramp it up as much as you like.

750g plums, stoned and chopped roughly
1 large Bramley apple, peeled and chopped
1 large onion, chopped
450g light muscovado sugar
350ml red wine vinegar
2 pieces of stem ginger in syrup, chopped
4 cloves garlic
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
½ tsp chilli flakes

Put the stem ginger, garlic, cumin and salt into a blender with a couple of tablespoons of the measured vinegar and blitz until slushy.

Put the plums, apple, onions and sugar into a large wide pan, add the garlic and ginger mix followed by the vinegar and chilli flakes; give everything a good stir and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer steadily for about an hour or so, giving it a stir from time to time, until thickened and almost no liquid remains when a channel is drawn across the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.

Pot up into hot sterilised jars whilst the chutney is still hot and allow to mature for at least 4-6 weeks before eating.

Makes 5 190g jars.