I have the most brilliant harvest of beetroot this year. One of our families favourite things to pep up a sandwich or cheese on toast is Beetroot Chutney.
This is batch number 2.
It is so much milder than pickled beetroot and our children love it too. So on my recent themes of harvest recipes here it is...
Beetroot Chutney
3lb Beetroot (cooked and fine diced)
1 lb cooking apples (diced)
1 lb onions (fine diced)
2 tsp salt
1 lb sugar
1 pint brown vinegar
Cook beetroot and chop into a fine dice. Cook onion in a little of the vinegar to soften. Add all of the rest of the ingredients and cook until soft and sticky. Jar and keep for one month before eating.
You do need to keep it for one month or it tastes really sharply of vinegar and it needs to mellow a bit. Great on Cheese butties, with ham, pork pie, with sausages and mash etc. I doubled this batch with 6lb of beetroot (made 7 jars) and have hardly touched the bounty yet!
It does make your house smell of vinegar for a few days! Jo x
I sort of knew you ladies would like the courgette cake recipe but when I did the post yesterday there were demanding small people in the background so I cut it a bit short. So here it is....
Courgette cake
60g raisins
250g grated courgette
2 large eggs
125ml vegetable oil
150g caster sugar
225g Self raising flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
zest of 2 limes
Soak raisins until plump in hot water. Grate courgettes and squeeze out excess water. Beat eggs, oil, sugar until creamy. (electric whisk is best) Sieve in flour, bicarb and baking powder. Stir in drained raisins, zest and courgettes. Pour into lined tins. Bake for 30 mins on gas 5. Leave in tins for 5-10 mins. Turn out and ice.
It is a version of one I saw years ago in my friends book Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson but I didn't have the book so I memorised it and use this version. It has the texture of carrot cake and stays moist rather than going dry. You can sandwich two together with lemon curd and put icing on the top for a showstopper or make them as a loaf for sandwich boxes which are not as messy. It also looks particularly lovely if you decorate the icing on the top with pistachios because of the green colour.
Bloke entered it in last years local show and won first prize - that is the kind of bloke you want to find in life!!
I have some other rather great 'harvest/glut' type cakes that I will share with you as the produce rolls in over the next few months.
I have linked up with Chantille Fleur for her Tea party Tuesday posts to remind me to post my harvest cake recipes for you all.
Does the great British bake off start this week did I hear? Jo x
