Pink Grapefruit Marmalade

I've written up about this one on my other blog...but here is just a nice picture.  Its a lovely colour:  warm and inviting for breakfast....

Green is the colour

Yes Green, one of my favourite colours, all types of green....

Picked up some lovely fresh bright green unwaxed limes from Waitrose.  I've not made any Seville Marmalade this year, but will just focus on others.  However in the cupboard I had only a part pack of Tate & Lyle left, so I rushed to the local small Tesco, but they only sell sugar beet sugar.  I've used that before but it just does not work.  A small store had some, so rather than traipse to a larger Tesco in Warwick or Leamington I bought a couple of bags.

I really love Lime Marmalade so soon there will a few pots in the cupboard.

Not a 'season correct' preserve

Who would think of making strawberry jam in the middle of January.  The guys at Kenilworth market have been pleading with me to buy some seville oranges.  They do look great, but I have about 5 jars left in cupboard, and I would really like to be making some grapefruit and lemon soon, so I think for the first time in years, I shall pass on the Seville.

However they had some punnets of wonderful looking, no doubt hot house strawberries, and since we were out of that preserve, bought some.  I think they must have been destined for the catering market since they weighted 750g each.  Anyway the boy says it taste lovely.

Cranberry Relish with juniper and honey

As soon as we got back from our hols, the guys on the fruit and veg stall run by Stodds of Leicester at Kenilworth Market called me to point out the new season cranberries.  I still had my sea legs and was more in the mood for being outside, but last week, I came home with the supplies....

This year I wanted a very grown up flavour and mused on Christmas flavours which would go with various meats from Turkey, through to Duck or even venison.  You can see that I haven't yet settled on the Christmas menu.

I also like to have memories and links with friends blended into my relishes.  Nicki recently brought me a jar of honey from her husband Mike's hives in Warwick.  Usually I have been delighted to receive little pieces of honeycomb, but this is the first batch of honey extracted from the comb.  I've been enjoying spoonfuls on my breakfast each morning with Sheep's Yogurt fruit and nuts.  Since one jar is to go to Nicki, I thought it would be lovely for them to have their own honey in their Cranberry Relish for Christmas.  I also had half a boiled whole orange in the freezer left over from the gluten free almond cake I made when Janice last visited for tea, and yes another jar has already gone to Janice.  Quite honestly this boiled orange is not really necessary if you are going to replicate this relish

Cranberry Relish 2014

500g Jumbo Cranberries
500g prepared cooking apples, I used Granny Smiths
1 Orange Grated zest and juice
1/2 boiled whole orange pulverised, optional
275 g organic cider vinegar
1 tsp juniper berries well crushed
1 tsp roasted fennel seeds
250g local honey
1/2 tsp salt

Wash a few jars and place them in the oven at gas mark 2 to sterilize whilst the relish is being prepared.  Put the lids in a pot of boiling water and also put these in the oven.  Dry the lids well with clean tissue before using.

In a large pan, put the cooking apples, peeled, cored and chopped into smallish pieces, and three quarters of the cranberries, together with the orange juice and zest into a pan, and cook gently, stirring to avoid catching on the bottom, until the fruit is very soft.  This takes about 10 minutes.

Add the cider vinegar, blitzed orange, juniper berries and feel seeds, and remaining berries and continue cooking until a thick consistency, stirring from time to time.  I wanted to have some of the berries cooked but suspended in the relish.  About another 10 minutes

 Add the honey and taste for sweetness, heat through.  I decided to keep it quite tart.    Pot up whilst very hot, trying to make sure not to trap any bubbles, and fill to just below the lid.  Put the vinegar proof lids on whilst very hot.

I tried some from the little pot with my Sunday Roast Chicken, yes very good and it will get even better with three weeks of maturation.  This relish is to be kept in the fridge and once opened, I would say use within two weeks or so.  I reckon it would be perfect added to a sauce for pan seared duck breast or venison.

Courgette Chutney Recipe

This is a chutney that livens up a supper or a sandwich, and which I have also used as another ingredient in a salad.  Take some cooked chickpeas, add a few roasted tomatoes or red peppers, add a few tablespoons of chutney, toss et voila a dish for lunch.  Also good with couscous.

Ingredients:

1 Kg smallish green courgettes
600 g cooking onions
6 medium cloves of garlic
2 tbs salt
700 g cider vinegar
450 g soft brown sugar

Spices

3 tsp light mustard seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp ground turmeric
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp celery seeds
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 small red chilli

1.5 tbsp cornflour

Method

Wash the courgettes well, and wipe with a clean cloth, top and tail, then slice into small pieces.  I like to quarter the courgettes lengthwise, then slice into thinnish pieces.  Put them all into a large bowl, sprinkle on the salt and toss well.

Then chop up the onions into smallish pieces and garlic into very fine slices.

Add the onion and garlic to the courgettes and toss again.  Water is already being drawn out of the courgettes.

Add the mustard, coriander and cumin seeds to your chutney pan, and cook over a medium heat until you can smell the aroma coming up, but making sure not to scorch the spices.

Off the heat add the vinegar and sugar, and back on the heat, mix to dissolve the sugar.  Boil for about five minutes.

Take a ladel full out to a small bowl and blend the remaining spices, and add these to the pan. Continue to simmer for a few minutes.

Meanwhile drain the vegetables, which will have shrunk,  in a colander, rinse quickly under the cold tap, then push down hard to squeeze as much water away without bruising the vegetables.  You could use a salad spinner to do this.

Add the vegetables to the pan with the vinegar, and bring to the boil, then cook everything for about five to seven minutes.   You don't want a mush but a slight bite still to the onions and courgettes.

The liquid should be sufficient to give a good sauce, but well balanced with a good volume of vegetables.  At this stage, add a finely chopped red chilli and  take a little of the sauce and blend with 1 1/2 tbs cornflour, and return to the pan, and cook for a further 5 minutes.

Pack into warm sterilized jars.  Tamper down the chutney with the back of a teaspoon to make sure it is well packed down, and to remove any bubbles of air.  Fill jars to just below the rim, and cover with rustproof lids.

Store for a few weeks if possible,  to mature in a cool dark place.  Once opened keep in the fridge, and use within a month or so.

Beetroot Chutney

Eight jars now stashed in the cupboard.  Hurrah!  Can't believe that I haven't posted about this preserve in previous years...but this is a time of year which is more about making preserves than writing about them.

I've posted the recipe on my other blog, You are welcome to try it yourself, or if you're one of my friends who have continued to help 'support' me in my preserving journey, do come round and pick up a jar.

Fig Conserve

Each year I pander to some inner nostalgic yearning.  I love figs, ever since I was really young.  My Mum used to chase the arrival of tins of figs when a consignment arrived by boat.  There must have been some sort of bush telegraph on the island.  Later when supermarkets arrived on the island: Mauritius, or at least the larger usually Chinese emporiums, you could rely on getting them there, but not always!  The large tin was opened and the jam decanted into a couple jars, which were then kept in the fridge.  One of the snacks my Dad had in the afternoon when coming home from work, was a sliced pain maison, ice cold hard butter, which soon melted in the heat, and green fig jam.   Being daddy's girl, of course, I had to have the same!

Now I eat all types of figs, and when on holiday in warmer climes often buy a small bag full, and eaten on the foot if fresh, or if dried, they are brought back home to poach.  Some sharp goats' or creamy sheeps yogurt topped with a couple of poached figs is my fall back pudding of choice.

I look out for figs in the local fruit and vegetables shops, and splash out on a tray full.  This year for one week only it seems, our Kenilworth Greengrocer had 500g tubs of smaller, but no less beautiful and ripe figs.  I did not hesitate and came home with 3...

In the week, Katherine had given me a few crab apples and having just prepared them, thought of incorporating them into the preserve.  I make this preserve to use in things, rather than to get a 'perfect' set jam.  Its the flavour I am going for.  Figs are all texture and looks, sweetness in abundance, but I feel them are improved with a few extras in a compote.  I once had fig and lime marmalade, which was a great combination.  This time I decided to add orange, and a few spices too.  The figs bought last year in Dubrovnik market had dried bayleaves, so this Fig Conserve has had a few fresh bay leaves added.

Fig Conserve

1200g  prepared figs, chopped to about 1.5 cm pieces
1 Large Orange zest and juice
2 large ladles of crab apple juice
3 Bay Leaves
1 tsp powdered allspice
1tsp powdered cinnamon
900g sugar

Put everything apart from the sugar into a large pan, and then simmer gently till soft, stirring from time to time to make sure nothing sticks.   The consistency is thick.  I think the fruit continues to cook very gently as it cools, you can then add the sugar or leave it a little longer if you have other things to do. Taste the mixture, if you would like something extra such as lemon juice or lime juice, then add it now.  Stirring gently until the sugar is dissolved, its then brought to the boil, and cooked again, till its a thickish consistency.  I cooked it for about 15 minutes.  You need to stir from time to time to avoid the fruit catching on the bottom.

This morning I had some from the little pot on my morning pumpkin brioche, and it was delicious.  I liked the texture too.