Love it or hate it, come Boxing Day there are the inevitable Christmas dinner leftovers to be dealt with. After the excesses of the day before, the simplest and most delicious way to achieve this is to offer up some cold cuts with some cheese and leftover vegetables, then add some spicy chutney and a light, healthy salad. Now's the time to start thinking about making your Christmas chutney, to allow it to mature not only to bling up your leftovers but also to give as a stocking gift to friends and family.
Apple and tomato festive chutney
The sweet spiciness of this chutney is ideal for cutting through the richness of traditional Christmas foods or to jazz up bland foods.
1kg apples - peeled, cored and sliced
450ml water
1 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds
1kg tomatoes, sliced
2 onions, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
85g sultanas
140g caster sugar
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon salt
560ml malt vinegar
Bring the water and the apples to the boil in a large saucepan, then reduce the heat and simmer for 25 minutes, stirring regularly, until the apples are soft. Add a little more water if the level seems low.
Wrap the yellow mustard seeds in a small, clean piece of muslin and tie up with string, and then add to the saucepan with the rest of the ingredients. Keep stirring until the sugar dissolves then bring back to boil before reducing the heat again and simmering, stirring occasionally, for three hours. The chutney should thicken up nicely in this time. Remove the mustard seed parcel and decant the chutney into clean, sterilised jars. Seal and store in a cool, dark place until ready to use.
Caramelised onion festive chutney
This is sophisticated Christmas chutney, ideal for making use of the onions in season now.
7 red onions
2 shallots
1 white onion
1 red pepper - grilled, peeled, de-seeded and diced
1 red chilli - de-seeded and diced
270ml Balsamic vinegar
50ml red wine vinegar
220g soft dark brown sugar
7cm cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
1 sprig fresh rosemary
Olive oil
Add the onions - all peeled and chopped, bay leaves, cinnamon stick and rosemary to a large pan with some olive oil and cook gently for about 20 minutes. The onions should be soft, sticky and golden. Stir in the chopped pepper and chilli and cook for another couple of minutes then add the vinegars and sugar. Stir well and leave to simmer until the mixture thickens up. Store as above.
