Spicy Plum Chutney

I had some leftover frozen plums from an overabundant catering of a family event.  They needed using.  So although there was only enough for 1 jar I made Spicy Plum Chutney. Simple ingredients and you can adjust the chilli to suit your taste.

Ingredients:

320g Frozen plums (sliced and pitted) (about .7 of a pound)

1 small onion (shallot)

1 cup malt vinegar

1 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon chlli powder

Some ground black pepper

Method:

Put everything in a pot and bring it to a boil while stirring it until all the sugar is dissolved.

Simmer for 30 to 40 minutes until it is nice and thick.

Put into a clean jar and store it in the fridge (unless you have sterilised the jar).

Spicy Plum Chutney – Bears repeating!

I decided to do something with plums.  So here is my spicy plum chutney.

I does take a bit of time – you have to prepare your plums and onions and then boil gently for about an hour and a half at least– so don't start it too late at night!  But there is a glorious smell while it is cooking.

To make about 8 cups of chutney, the ingredients are:

2 kilos (4 ½ lb) of dark plums, stoned and chopped

500g (1 ¼ lb) onions, diced

5 cups brown sugar

4 cups malt vinegar

1 tablesp salt

1 teasp chili powder

1 teasp ground cloves

I also added (as an optional extra) ½ fresh red chilli finely diced, 1 teasp of ground white pepper.

Put all this into a stock pot or large saucepan.  Bring it to the boil – stirring until the sugar dissolves.  Then boil it gently for about 1 ½ to 2 hours until the chutney is nice and thick.

If you are into proper preserving, put it into sterilised jars.  I just use clean glass jars, seal the top with a wax paper disc and keep the jars in the fridge.

It was delicious right away but will only improve with age.

Plum Plus Jam – Again

I called this jam Plum Plus because in addition to the plums I included a handful of blueberries, some sour cherry nectar and a splash of Amaretto (an almond flavoured liqueur).

I have posted about my normal approach to jam making – here.

But I used a different technique for this jam and it worked just fine.  I didn't pit the plums (1.5k) but simply put them in the jam pot with the sour cherry nectar and some water and simmered them for 30 minutes.

The fruit turned pulpy and I was able to fish out the plum pits with a slotted spoon.  I missed a few I think but they will be easy to spot when spreading the jam.

I then added the sugar (1k of jam setting sugar) and a tablespoon or so of Amaretto.  You boil this away merrily until you get to the setting stage.  It took longer because of the original water that needed to be boiled off a bit.

The only stressful thing about making jam is making sure that you boil it long enough for the jam to set but not so long that it goes too thick and loses the fresh flavour.  As a result my jams tend to be a bit on the runny side ever since one overcooked disaster which was practically inedible.

Beef Sausages with a Chilli Cherry Plum Sauce

This Chilli Cherry Plum Sauce went very well with some good beef sausages.  It will come as no surprise that the sauce was inspired by what was on hand.

The sauce was made by simmering the following until a nice saucy consistency was reached – no more than 10 minutes.

Chopped up red chilli to taste

Fresh pitted plums

Cup or so of Sour Cherry Nectar

Brown Sugar (to taste but you need enough to allow the sauce to thicken)

Salt or Fish Sauce

White ground pepper

Brandy

Some grated ginger

Cayenne Pepper to taste (I started with ¼ tsp)

I meant to add a dollop of sour cream right before serving but forgot and the sauce was fine without it.

Need some extra inspiration? Try plums

Grilled Pork Chops with Plum Sauce

Food on Friday: Plums had lots of lovely plum dishes.  I have chosen a few to inspire you today.  To see many more I suggest you visit this Pinboard.

  

The first pic is of Grilled Pork Chops with Plum Sauce by Flavors by Four

Gluten free plum clafoutis by Gluten free for Lunchboxes

Plum Brandy Ice Cream by Spinach Tiger

Plum Good Meatloaf by Jazzy Gourmet Cooking Studio

Roasted Plum Mille Feuille by Korena in the Kitchen

  

Plum upside down cake by I Heart Baking

My own Plum Chutney to finish