We have a glut of pears at the moment – a result I think of this fantastic spring and summer! Sadly the pears have rarely been very tasty over successive years so I always have to find something else to do with them rather than just eating as a fruit.
A couple of years back I did picked pears which kept very well and were used at Christmas along side cold meats and cheeses. This year I have opted to try a pear chutney to go equally well with cold cuts and cheeses. As always I found several recipes that I liked and I took the best of them to create this lovely spicy chutney. The star anise gives it a real depth of flavour and the chillies a bit of a kick – which I always like!
Spicy pear chutney
A lovely spicy chutney made from home grown pears – perfect to serve with cheese or cold meats
Equipment
- Large pan
- 4 clean and sterilised jars
Ingredients
- 1 kg pears
- 3 Onions
- 40 g Minced ginger
- 6 Cloves garlic minced
- 200 g Light muscavado sugar
- 100 g Dark muscavado sugar
- 125 g Raisins
- 125 g Sultanas
- 500 ml Vinegar I used a mix of cider and malt
- 2 Star anise
- 3 Dried red chillies
- 2 Fresh green chillies
- 1 tsp Ground coriander
- 1 tsp Ground cumin
- 1 tsp Garamasala
- 1 tsp Chilli powder
- 1 tsp Turmeric
- 1.5 tsp salt
Instructions
- Peel core and chop the pears. Chop the onions.
- Add chopped pears and onions to the pan along with the vinegar, sugar, dried fruit, ginger and garlic and spices.
- Bring to the boil then simmer on a low heat until the pears are soft. Allow to cool.
- Once cool add to the cleaned jars. Store in a cool dry place.
Posted in Recipes and food
