A Quartet Of Tangy Chutneys

It's a new year, but it's still only January and, if you're anything like me, you have a ton of leftover cold meats and cheeses in the fridge and/or freezer. I refuse to waste food and my leftovers are in desperate need of using up (I'm forever short of freezer space). For me at least, the ideal way of using up this type of leftovers are meat and cheese boards or good old fashioned sandwiches and neither are complete without a healthy dollop of chutney or pickle. With that in mind here are 4 super simple, tangy chutneys that go great with meat and cheese.

Apple And Cranberry

You will need:
250g onion, sliced
250g apple, peeled and chopped
3cm chunk ginger, grated
1/2 tsp peppercorns, cracked
1/4 tsp mixed spice
1/4 tsp salt
250g brown sugar
100ml cider vinegar
250g cranberries

Method:
1. Add everything, but the cranberries, to a heavy bottomed saucepan.
2. Place over medium/high heat until boiling, reduce the heat until just simmering and cook for about 45 minutes, stirring regularly, until thickened.
3. Add the cranberries and continue to cook for a further 10 - 15 minutes.

Onion And Pepper

You will need:
250g onion, sliced
150g red pepper, chopped
150g green pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3cm chunk ginger, grated
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper, ground
250g brown sugar
100ml cider vinegar

Method:
1. Add everything to a heavy bottomed saucepan.
2. Place over medium/high heat until boiling, reduce the heat until just simmering and cook for about 45 minutes, stirring regularly, until thickened.

Root Vegetable

You will need:
200g onion, finely chopped
100g carrot, finely chopped
100g swede, finely chopped
100g parsnip, finely chopped
100g apple, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3cm chunk ginger, grated
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper, ground
250g brown sugar
100ml cider vinegar

Method:
1. Add everything to a heavy bottomed saucepan.
2. Place over medium/high heat until boiling, reduce the heat until just simmering and cook for about 60 minutes, stirring regularly, until thickened.

Tomato And Onion

You will need:
250g red onion, sliced
250g tomato, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3cm chunk ginger, grated
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper, ground
250g brown sugar
100ml cider vinegar

Method:
1. Add everything to a heavy bottomed saucepan.
2. Place over medium/high heat until boiling, reduce the heat until just simmering and cook for about 60 minutes, stirring regularly, until thickened.

Notes:
Store in the fridge in sterilised jars and these should keep for weeks, if not a couple of months.

Chicken, Pumpkin And Chickpea Curry

Rich, creamy, flavoursome and a little bit seasonal (it's currently autumn/winter). I know this is very similar to a couple of other recipes I’ve posted in the past, but I do love a curry and sometimes changing just a few little things can alter the flavour dramatically.

You will need:
1 tbsp vegetable oil (rapeseed oil)
3 medium onions, sliced
6 chicken thighs, boned and very roughly chopped
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 thumb sized piece of ginger, grated
3 chillies, finely chopped
2/3 tbsp curry paste*
1 small pumpkin, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
250ml chicken stock
1 can reduced-fat coconut milk
1 can chickpeas, drained
1 handful fresh coriander, chopped

Method:
1. Heat the vegetable oil over low/medium heat in a large saucepan with a lid.
2. Add the onion and cook for 10-15 minutes, until they begin to caramelise.
3. Turn up the heat to medium, add the chicken and continue to cook for a further 2-3 minutes, until just coloured.
4. Add the garlic, ginger and chilli and cook for another minute.
5. Stir in the curry paste and cook, stirring constantly to stop it catching, for 1 minute, until fragrant.
6. Add in the pumpkin, stock and coconut milk, stir, bring to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes.
7. Add in the chickpeas, stir and continue to cook until the pumpkin is tender.
8. Remove from the heat, stir through the coriander and serve.

Notes:
Serve over rice, with a naan or maybe both (definitely both).

* You can easily substitute with curry powder if you don't have paste.

Simple Chicken And Split Pea Curry

This is another one of those batch cooked recipes that is essentially a whole meal in a bowl. Rich, flavoursome, nicely spiced and filling, this is a fairly simple meal that'll keep you going without being too heavy and stodgy.

You will need:
1 tbsp vegetable oil (rapeseed oil)
2 medium onions, chopped *
4 large chicken legs, skin removed **
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 thumb sized piece of ginger, grated
3 chillies, finely chopped
2 tbsp curry powder ***
500ml chicken stock
250g yellow split peas
1 pack sweet peppers, roughly chopped ****
3 sweet potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped *****
200g bag of fresh spinach

Method:
1. Heat the vegetable oil over medium heat in a large saucepan with a lid.
2. Add the onion and cook for 4-5 minutes, until they begin to soften.
3. Add the chicken and continue to cook for a further 10 minutes, until the chicken browns and the onions start to caramelise.
4. Add the garlic, ginger and chilli and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
5. Stir in the curry powder and cook, stirring constantly to stop it catching, for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant.
6. Add the stock, split peas, peppers and sweet potato, stir to combine and cover with the lid. Turn the heat down to medium low and simmer for 60 minutes.
7. Remove the lid and simmer for a further 30 minutes, until the sauce darkens and thickens and the split peas are cooked.
8. Check the seasoning and add salt, if needed.
9. Take the pan off the heat, stir in the spinach then leave to stand, with the lid on, until the spinach wilts.

Notes:
* I say medium onions only because they’re what I have, 1 very large onion or 3 smaller ones would be fine as an alternative.
** I ended up using 8 chicken thighs because they're what I had in the fridge.
*** I actually used curry paste because I happened to have a small pot left over in the freezer.
**** Again this could be swapped out for 2 ordinary peppers, I just happen to have these to hand.
***** This could be left out completely if you're serving this over rice or, alternatively, could be swapped out for normal potatoes or even butternut squash.

Reworked Turkey And Potato Curry

This is basically a re-working of one of my earlier recipes. At the time I originally wrote this up I’d tried a few things, in an attempt to give the dish more flavour, that I thought didn’t work as well as they could have. With that in mind, and the fact that I’ve not been able to come up with anything new, I decided to change a few things, add a little more bulk in the form of chickpeas, and try again.

You will need:
1 tbsp vegetable oil (rapeseed oil)
500g turkey mince
3 small onions, chopped *
1 inch piece of ginger, grated
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
500g turkey mince
5 tbsp madras curry paste **
1 can chopped tomato
300ml chicken stock
500g salad potatoes, half any larger potatoes
1 can chickpeas
200g bag of fresh spinach

Method:
1. Heat the vegetable oil over medium heat in a large saucepan, with a lid.
2. Add the onion and cook for 4-5 minutes, until the onion begins to soften.
3. Add the ginger, garlic and turkey mince, stir and cook for another 4-5 minutes.
4. Stir in the curry paste and cook for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant.
5. Add the tomatoes, stock, potatoes and chickpeas, stir to combine and cover with the lid. Turn the heat down to medium low and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked though.
6. Check the seasoning and add salt, if needed.
7. Take the pan off the heat, stir in the spinach then leave to stand, with the lid on, until the spinach wilts.

Notes:
* I say small onions only because they’re what I have, 1 large onion would be fine as an alternative.

** 2 round tbsp of curry powder would be fine for this, I just happened to have some curry paste to hand, however, if you’re using curry powder I’d definitely recommend adding a couple of tbsp of tomato puree.

As with the original I’d serve this up in a bowl on its own, but if you want to bulk it out a little serve it over boiled rice or with a naan bread. Want a little extra veg? Throw in 150g of frozen peas, at the end of the cooking time, before taking it off the heat.

Simple Turkey And Potato Curry

I like having an easy life, or at least one that's as easy as my life can get, and to that end I'm always happy to find simple, cheap, preferably fairly healthy, one pot recipes that I can make in multi meal batches. This is definitely one of those recipes, everything you need for a tasty, satisfying meal is there and, thanks to inclusion of turkey mince, it's even pretty low in fat.

You will need:
1 tbsp vegetable oil (rapeseed oil)
500g turkey mince
1 large onion, chopped
2 chillies, chopped
1 inch piece of ginger, grated
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 round tbsp medium curry powder
120ml water
2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
4 salad tomatoes, chopped
2 tsp dried parsley
Large handful of fresh spinach

Method:
1. Heat the vegetable oil over medium high heat in a large saucepan, with a lid.
2. Add the turkey, spreading it out evenly over the base of the pan, and cook, without stirring, until it begins to brown.
3. Add the onion and chillies, stir and continue to cook for 4-5 minutes, or until the onion begins to soften.
4. Add the ginger, garlic and curry powder, stir and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
5. Add the water and potatoes, stir to combine and cover with the lid. Turn the heat down to medium low and simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the potatoes are almost cooked though.
6. Add tomatoes, stir, re-cover the pan and cook for a further 5 minutes.
7. Check the seasoning and add salt, if needed.
8. Take the pan off the heat, stir in the parsley and spinach then leave to stand, with the lid on, until the spinach wilts.

Notes:
I serve this up in a bowl on its own and it's great, but if you want a little extra serve it over boiled rice or with a naan bread. Want a little extra veg? Throw in 150g of frozen peas when you add the tomatoes.