Apple and Pear Chutney: not quite how Mom used to make.
- rachel42hudson
- Oct 8, 2016
- 2 min read
My mom didn’t cook much when I was growing up. But what she did make will always hold a special place in my heart.
One of my favourite dishes my mom would make was salmon loaf with apple chutney. It wasn’t a traditional chutney. It was a chopped onion, apple, and a tablespoon of store bought curry powder all cooked in butter (Delicious by the way).
She'd stir the pot while I tried to balance on my toes by the stove to see what she was doing. It was exciting. It was the same stove she taught me how liquid H2O turned into gas when left to boil for a long period of time. Everything she did had an element of magic to it and to me there was absolutely nothing that she couldn’t do.
The food was simple. But perhaps that was for the best. Each flavour note is distinctly imprinted in my brain.
This recipe is certainly more complex than my mom’s. Although, it’s still very simple. I call it a prep as you go recipe. There’s really no need to chop the apples or pears before you start cooking if you cook the onions over a medium to low heat.
The aroma and taste takes me back to the old days, watching my mom create magic.
Apple and Pear Chutney
For the apples I like to use Gala or Cox Pippin. For the pears, to me, Bartlett is your best option.
I toast and grind my own Garam Masala from scratch using the recipe from Rick Stein's India.
A small diced onion.
An apple cored and diced.
A pear cored and diced.
A tablespoon of coconut oil.
A small garlic clove grated.
Five or six thick grates of fresh ginger and turmeric .
A little less than half a tablespoon of garam masala.
Sea salt.
A pinch of cayenne pepper.
A tablespoon of raisins.
A big splash of red wine vinegar.
Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add onions with a pinch of salt and cook until translucent. Add apple, pear, and garlic to the pan. Cook until you can smell the garlic. Grate ginger and turmeric directly into apple and pear mixture.
Add the garam masala and cayenne pepper. Stir and cook until you can smell the spices then add the raisins. Cook mixture until the apples start to slowly caramelize. Deglaze pan with vinegar and allow . Taste for salt. I like to add a pinch just to bring the flavours together. The apples should soft but still have some firmness to them.
I like to serve my chutney with salmon but I’m a sentimental person. It goes well with roast chicken and it’s also nice spread on toast for breakfast. It’s also really nice on its own. The chutney can be stored covered in the fridge for three or four days,
Commentaires