KYLE’S PEAR CHUTNEY

1.5 kg green pears, finely chopped
300 g dried cranberries, finely chopped
450 g dried apricots, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 teaspoons mustard seeds
2 large onions
2 teaspoons lime zest
920 g white sugar
1 litre vinegar (900 ml white and 100 ml dark)
2 teaspoons ginger powder
2 teaspoons mixed spice
2 bay leaves
2 aniseed stars
2 teaspoons chilli flakes
1 teaspoon tumeric
pinch of salt

Peel and chop pears into tiny blocks. Finely chop the dried fruit and garlic. Put oil in a pot and heat a tiny bit. Add onions, mustard seeds & bay leaves and sweat them off on low heat (do not burn them). When onions are cooked, add dried fruit and garlic and stir for a minute. Add sugar, liquids and zest and bring to a boil. Add pears and mix well. Turn down the heat so that the mix can simmer. Place the greaseproof paper on top of the mix and stir every 45 minutes. The mixture will eventually thicken.

Tips:
You can use just raisins instead of the other dried fruits. You can also use green apples instead of pears. If you don’t like spicy, reduce chillies or don’t add any. When you cook the mixture, always make sure that it simmers slowly and then stir every time, you will see that the mixture will start sticking to the bottom of the pot. This means that it’s almost ready. If you don’t want the chutney to be too chunky, take a potato masher and mash until you like the consistency.

Recipe and photo: Kyle Jensen