Preserves
Beetroot & Nectarine Chutney with Ginger
This is a nice chutney but a word of warning – when chopping the beetroot I suggest you wear polythene gloves unless you want very red hands for weeks afterwards.
1 large preserving or casserole pan
Four 1 lb jars (sterilized)
Polythene gloves
Ingredients
2 lb cooked beetroot
1 lb nectarines
1 large onion
8 oz caster sugar
1 oz fresh ginger
1 teaspoon salt
12 fl oz malt vinegar
Method
Start by peeling and chopping the beetroot into small pieces and put them into your pan.
Next peel the nectarines and add those to the pan – there is no need to separate the segments.
Peel and chop the onion and ginger and put into the pan along with the sugar and malt vinegar. It is important to chop the ginger and not crush it as you will have more of a ginger taste than if you crushed it.
Turn the heat on to a high setting and bring everything to the boil – give everything an occasional stir.
Once the mixture has come to boiling point turn the heat down and simmer everything for around 15-20 minutes or until the fruit is soft.
Once the fruit is soft remove from the heat and then using a ladle, transfer some of the ingredients into a food processor and blitz until mixture has pureed down a bit. Pour that into a new pan and then add the next batch – I did this in about 3 batches.
Meanwhile place the jars in the oven on a very low heat to warm through.
Once warmed remove jars from the heat and put your mixture into them using a ladle.
Place a waxed disk on top of the chutney and seal. Once the chutney has cooled you can then label your jars.
This chutney like many others is lovely with cold meats and can be brought out any time of the year.