I tend to take responsibility for gift buying in our house but I’m skint at the moment and I hate buying people crap they don’t need. I also happen to have a triffid-like rhubarb plant in the garden and a newfound fancy for chutney making, so I thought I’d ‘kill a few birds’ and make the dads some rhubarb chutney for fathers’ day. The recipe came from the Channel 4 website I think – does that count as a proper credit? I hope so.
500g rhubarb, finely chopped
100ml cider vinegar
200g sugar (caster is fine)
1 medium-sized onion, finely chopped
1 cm of ginger, finely chopped
1/2 tsp salt
makes about 500ml of chutney (or just enough for 3 dads)
bring the onion, vinegar, sugar, ginger and salt to a rolling boil (use a wide-based non-aluminium pan) and leave boiling for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add the rhubarb and simmer for a further 15 minutes until it has thickened slightly. Pour the hot mixture into hot freshly sterilized jam jars (I boiled them in a saucepan while I was making the chutney) and leave to cool. Done.
The recipe doesn’t make it clear how long this keeps but it’s so lush I wouldn’t worry. It’ll be gone before you know it anyway. Serve with fish or good cheese and beer. Lovely.
Ursula Glitch 