Beet & blueberry chutney
I haven’t always been one to use chutneys with many things that I eat. Yes there was often a variety of mustard or some kind of pickle on the table when I was a young un’, but chutneys were always absent.
Perhaps my parents didn’t like them? Or maybe they were never really exposed to them and didn’t know where to use them?
I’ve dabbled in chutneys before – tamarind, shengdana lehsan and hari – that are designed for spiced foods like Indian, but haven’t got around to making anything else that would go with say, a pie, on a sandwich or with some meat off the grill.
Well I can safely say that has now changed.
Being a lover of all things beetroot, I thought I’d try my hand at making a small batch of chutney with this tasty little root vegetable. The process of making a chutney is relatively simple. You’ve got your main ingredient like beetroot, a little sugar, and acidic element and whatever else you may want to flavour it with.
Kind of like compote, but without the vinegar.
What I’ve created here is a chutney that’s so easy to make. Honestly! And adding blueberries makes it a little more special, even if they pretty much dissolve and vanish into the beetroot.
All you do is slice up your vegetables, throw them into a saucepan with all the other ingredients and let it slowly simmer for half an hour. And then it’s done!
The beetroot retains its texture and is a little al dente, and the sweet and sour flavour lends perfectly to so many things. I’ve used it with grilled sausages, homemade pies, on sandwiches, with curries, even on bruschetta. I even tried it with a sharp cheddar and a light drizzle of truffle honey. Um, hello!
The great thing is that you only end up with a couple of cups of chutney, so there’s no need to worry about what to do with any excess. It didn’t last long in my fridge, believe me.
Where I’ve used this chutney –
| Servings |
cup
|
- 250 g beets peeled & julienned
- 3 shallots finely sliced
- 100 g blueberries fresh or frozen
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 120 g sugar
- 150 ml verjuice
- 50 ml balsamic vinegar
- 50 ml apple cider vinegar
Ingredients
|
|
- Place all ingredients into a medium saucepan. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat to low and allow to simmer for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. It will be ready when about ¾ of the liquid has cooked away and a little syrup remains.
- Decant into sterilised jars, or one larger one, while still hot. Allow to cool before storing in the fridge.
