I love making chutney in Autumn when fruit is in abundance. Living in an older part of town, we have mature fruit trees laden with mandarins, persimmons, apples and feijoas at every turn.
Most places in New Zealand are at the height of feijoa season so I thought I'd share this recipe hoping it'll inspire you to make the harvest stretch into the winter months. I leave the skin on the fruit which gives this chutney a deliciously tart flavour. It’s sweet, sour and gently spiced to perfection and this recipe is very flexible.
If you’re looking for something fun and free to do with your kids this weekend why not collect a bucketload of feijoas and make this delicious chutney!
Ingredients
1.5 kg fruit (roughly equal amounts of feijoas & apples)
1 onion
6 cloves garlic
3 cm piece of ginger
½ cup sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp curry powder
½ tsp chilli flakes
½ cup vinegar
Method
Roughly chop the fruit in to 1 cm chunks, and place in large pot. Next, finely chop the ginger and garlic, adding them to the pot. Add all the remaining ingredients and bring to the boil. Simmer for 45 minutes, or until thickened, stirring frequently.
This recipe makes about four 300ml jars, which will keep in the fridge for a month. Or, if you want to preserve them for the colder months ahead, I recommend using the open pan method. All you need to do is place clean jars into the oven at 120°C for 15 minutes to sterilise. Then use oven gloves to remove the jars from the oven one at a time and fill with hot chutney. Once the jars have cooled completely, store in a dark, cool place for up to a year.