Our lovely neighbour dropped off a whole shoebox of green tomatoes, meaning only one thing – windfall chutney! For years my mum has made green tomato chutney in a bid to use up the last fruit on the vines from my dad’s greenhouse. This year he’s also grown an abundance of over-sized ridge cucumbers too – so we’d got a load of these. And there was the red grapes dying in the fridge…

…also not forgetting the big bag of chillies from the market for a bargain £1, a sack of onions from the Turkish supermarket for £1.09 plus apples from our neighbours tree. So we decided all this could be transformed into a spicy, fruity chutney –  just a few jars to see us through the winter.

First thing to do is prepare your jars and lids – make sure they’re spotlessly clean by washing in hot, soapy water. Then pour boiling water into the jars and let them sit for a few minutes before pouring the water out and letting them dry. Alternatively put them on a hot dishwasher cycle.

This recipe will make about 4 jars. It is an economical and flexible recipe – the amounts  are approximate and the veggies/fruits are easily variable.

You need:

• 1.5kg green tomatoes
• 4 large apples
• 2 cucumbers
• 3 large onions
• 100g sultanas or grapes
• 25og brown sugar
• 1 tbsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 5 chilli peppers (de-seeded)
• ½ tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp salt
• 600ml vinegar

Method:

Core and chop the apples and put them into a large pan. Add the roughly chopped cucumbers (de-seeded), tomatoes, onions and chillies (de-seeded).

Next add the sultanas, sugar, salt, mustard seeds, turmeric, ginger and vinegar.

Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and leave to simmer for an hour, giving it a stir occasionally to stop it sticking. Then spoon into the jars and seal.

This chutney is best left for a month and will keep for up to a year. As well as being a vital part of a tasty ploughman’s salad or a mighty cheese sandwich, chutney also makes a great fruity addition to a winter veggie stew or in a meat or lentil curry.