Recipe: Apple Chutney
I can honestly say this is the best Apple Chutney I have ever had (granted, this is the only Apple Chutney I have ever had) and I will happily live my life only eating this one. Okay, okay, that's a bit dramatic. I am all about trying new things, but this recipe is just so good that I cannot imagine anything better.
When we moved abroad we started taking German Lessons weekly with the kindest, liveliest spirit you'll ever meet. Christine teaches us weekly and helps us with our German, but what I cherish even more than that is her passion for food and cooking. Not only is she passionate, but she's an excellent cook with a creative recipe book.
One afternoon she brought Michael and I a jar of this delicious Apple Chutney and recommend we eat it with bread and cheese. I was a bit weary because never had I tried Apple Chutney, but after my first bite I was hooked. I promised a few friends that I would bring them some, then next thing I knew, I polished the whole jar off within in week. Topping it on anything and everything. Sweet or savory.
To be honest, the recipe intimidated me a bit so I put off making it. However, Christine was kind enough to spend a day with me this week showing me how she makes this delicious Apple Chutney. What a gift it is to spend time in the kitchen and in community with new friends. We laughed all day, got a great arm workout from all the chopping and stirring, and even shed a few tears (from the shallots)! Thankful for the sweet gifts given to me here in Germany -- like this friendship.
If you're interested in Christine's recipe, see below. Also, if you speak German, than you can find it on her blog here.
Apple Chutney Recipe:
Prep: 1 hr Cook: 4 hours
Ingredients
2 lbs of apples
1/2 cup of chopped shallots
2/3 cup of raisins
2/3 cup of chopped pecan or walnuts
8 ounces of apple cider
2 1/2 cups of cane sugar
3 teaspoons of fresh cinnamon powder
a dash of chili
Instructions
Chop apples into small pieces evenly.
Add all ingredients to the chopped apples, except the chili powder, in the pot you will be cooking in. Bring everything to a boil on your stove and continue to stir.
After 30 minutes of the mixture boiling, add the chili. We had ours going for about 3 hours on low stirring occasionally. This will depend on the type of pot you use for the length of cooking time. You will know your Apple Chutney is ready when everything is in uniform color and the apples are boiled down to a mush.
Once your Apple Chutney is finished cooking, place in glass storage containers. The chutney will store in the sealed tight containers for a very long time. For storage, we used these glass jars by Weck -- they are super cute and durable!
I prefer to have my Apple Chutney on fresh ciabatta accompanied with goat cheese. Also, with the Holidays around the corner, this makes a perfect small gift for friends and family.
Hope you enjoy!