After our success at Malham Show with the Beetroot 2nd prize Local & 3rd Prize Open I decided we best get some of it used up, so made this Chutney first thing this morning.  It is very simple and easy to make if a little messy peeling all the cooked beetroot, I still have purple hands!  (rubber gloves next time) It is also quite sweet, so maybe reduce the sugar a little.

Ingredients

• 1.5kg cooked beetroot, small cubes
• 450g onions, chopped
• 450g Granny Smith apples (I used windfalls from the garden), chopped
• 450g granulated sugar
• 600ml spiced white wine vinegar
• 2tsp sea salt

Preparation

1. pre cook the Beetroot by boiling whole without peeling, try and keep some of the root and stalk on as this keeps the beetroot firmer and stops it from bleeding too much, once cooked drain, set aside and allow to cool
2. once the beetroot is cool, top and tail and then peel the skin off with the back of a knife, it should just drop off
3. finely chop the onions
4. finely cube or chop the apples
5. cube the beetroot into small chutney sized pieces, size to your preference
6. I only had white vinegar so spiced this the night before with a small packet  of mixed pickling spices, give it a good shake and leave overnight, sieve out the pickling spice before use so you don’t get any bits in the chutney
7. wash and sterilise jam jars or kilner jars, run through the dishwasher on a hot wash, Aga ovens are great for this as you can dry the jars on the Aga lids or even pop them in the oven for a while

Method

1. put the chopped onion and vinegar in a large saucepan, heat gently and bring to a simmer
2. add the beetroot, apple, sugar and sea salt and bring to the boil
3. reduce the heat and simmer gently until the chutney thickens, I started with the lid on but then removed to allow the liquor to reduce and thicken
4. pour or spoon into hot sterile jars and cover tightly with lids
5. store in a cool dark place and refrigerate once a jar is opened

My batch using these quantities made up 9 jars of assorted size, great to share with friends, drop them a jar off.

Neil’s Lunchtime Sarnie

After helping setup the Showfield the other day Neil invited me back for a quick bite before the marque guys  arrived.  We feasted on freshly baked bread smeared with beetroot chutney added a few chunks of local cheese and topped off with a few slices of pickled jalapeno peppers, yum!  Not tried pickling my own jalapenos yet so will add those to the list!