This chutney makes cheese sing with joy. And who doesn’t want that? Plus it glows a most beautiful, vibrant orange colour. People constantly ask when I’m making more so they can come to my house and steal it.
- 1.8kg carrots, grated
- 110g ginger, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 litre cider vinegar
- 8 dried chillis (or 1 tsp dried chilli flakes)
- 2 tbsp coriander seeds, coarsely crushed
- 4 cinnamon sticks
- 2 star anise
- 60g sea salt flakes
- 3 heads garlic, cloves separated and peeled
- 500 ml water
- 1.5 kg granulated sugar
- In a large bowl, mix together the grated carrot, ginger, cider vinegar, chillis, coriander seeds, cinnamon sticks, star anise and salt. But not the garlic
- Cover the bowl with a plate or a clean tea towel and set aside to marinate for 24 hours
- Next day (probably giggling with excited anticipation), pour the carrot mixture into a large preserving pan
- Add the water, stir and bring to the boil. Then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 mins
- Stir in the sugar and garlic cloves, bring back to the boil and boil hard for around 45 mins, stirring occasionally, until the mixture becomes thick and jammy. Don’t be scared to properly whack the heat up. If you are gentle, it will take a lot longer
- Take off the heat and ladle at once into hot sterilised jars with tightly fitting lids. I don’t bother removing the star anise, chilli, cinnamon and garlic but by all means do if you prefer!
I like to sterilise my jars in the microwave – 3 mins on high with an inch of water in the bottom of each one – but you can also do it in the oven at 140C for 10 mins. Don’t forget to wash the lids in hot soapy water too and then pour some boiling water over them too for good measure.
Sophie cooks 