Fig, Walnut, Cranberry & Port Chutney

This recipe is from my Christmas repertoire. It’s a fabulously festive recipe by Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall of the River Cottage fame. I followed it faithfully and found no fault with it. So it’s faithfully reproduced here. As the chutney was made before I started writing the blog, I could only find this one very poor photo, but trust me, the chutney is delicious. Bottling it in several small jars can make it ideal for Chrismas gifting.

Having a jar of this handy makes it easy to knock up a quick crostini topping. It’s essentially crisp crostini, spread with fresh goats cheese and topped off with a dollop of the chutney. To make it a bit special, I added a crunchy fried sage leaf. I was reminded by a dear friend that she would love to have this chutney recipe, so Helina this one is for you!

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Fig, Walnut, Cranberry & Port Chutney

Cuisine

Modern British

Prep Time

15 min

Cook Time

1hour 30min

Servings

small bottles

Ingredients

• 500 g onions chopped
• 1/2 tablespoon oil
• 1 kg apples diced , any will do but try to include some Bramleys
• 500 ml cider vinegar organic unfiltered preferably
• 400 g demerara sugar
• 200 g dried figs diced
• 125 g dried cranberries
• 1 orange zest and juice
• 1 glass port
• 5 cm root ginger roughly chopped
• 6 cloves
• 12 cardamom pods
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 100 g walnuts roughly chopped

Cuisine Modern British Prep Time 15 min Cook Time 1hour 30min Servings small bottles Ingredients 500 g onions chopped 1/2 tablespoon oil 1 kg apples diced , any will do but try to include some Bramleys 500 ml cider vinegar organic unfiltered preferably 400 g demerara sugar 200 g dried figs diced 125 g dried cranberries 1 orange zest and juice 1 glass port 5 cm root ginger roughly chopped 6 cloves 12 cardamom pods 1 teaspoon coriander seeds 100 g walnuts roughly chopped

Instructions

1. Start by sweating the onion in a scrap of oil then add the apple. Pour over the vinegar and sugar and once it's had a good stir and the sugar has dissolved then fun can start.
2. Add the fruits to the pot then after that the orange zest and juice, followed by the port. Next, it's time to put together your spices. I have a small closed tea/spice strainer which I used to enclose all the spices and drop into the chutney. If you don't have a contraption like this, tie the ginger, cloves, cardamom pods and coriander seeds in a clean square of muslin and secure with string. Immerse the pouch deep in the simmering chutney.
3. Let the chutney it bubble away for an hour or so, making sure to stir it regularly so it doesn't catch on the bottom.
4. Add the walnuts and cook for a final 30 minutes. If you can part your chutney and see a little bit of pan on the bottom you are done.
5. Decant the warm chutney into sterilised jars, seal with vinegar-proof lids and allow to cool.

Recipe Notes

To sterilise jars, see the instructions provided under the recipe for Dark Apricot Preserve.

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