Apple and chilli jelly

We spent about an hour this week picking apples in Justin’s parents‘ next-door neighbours’ garden. Got all that?

We must have harvested about 10 to 15 kilos. I wanted to make something where I didn’t need to peel and core that quantity apples. Though they’re delicious (they’re cooking apples), a lot of them are small and misshapen – a nightmare job!

Justin suggested apple and chilli jelly. It would utilise the apples – and some of the 300 glass jars I’ve managed to accumulate over the years!

I weighed out 4 kilos of apples – so doubled up this recipe. I barely made a dent in the pile!

It’s not a complicated process, but a bit of time is required for chopping, boiling, straining, re-boiling. No problem if you’re in the house, as you can get on with something else as it bubbles away.

The resulting jelly is a wonderful colour – and tastes amazing! The perfect accompaniment for vegetarian or meat dishes, which is ideal for this household. Perfect with cheese, burgers and kebabs. Justin thinks it will be absolutely awesome with slow roasted pork and has vowed to try it at the weekend.

If you have an apple harvest ready to pick, then we can thoroughly recommend this recipe. It will last for months (even years) in your store cupboard – or make perfect presents for anyone deserving enough!

Now… what to do with the other 10 kilos of apples?!

Apple and chilli jelly

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Course Condiment

Ingredients

2 kg cooking apples washed and roughly chopped (no need to peel or core)
1.5 litres water
1 unwaxed lemon zest and juice
granulated and/or preserving sugar - 1.25kg to every litre of strained liquid
3 hot chillies sliced thinly (or more if you'd like it hotter. Red ones look prettier suspended in the finished jelly)

Instructions

Put the chopped apples into a large saucepan with the 2 of the chillies and the lemon zest
Add the water and bring to the boil. Simmer gently until all the fruit is soft and mushy - about half an hour
Ladle the mixture into a jelly strainer set over a large heat-proof bowl or saucepan (you could also use a square of muslin or old, clean tea towel set into a colander over the bowl/saucepan)
Allow to drain through overnight or at least 6 hours. Don't force the juice through or the finished jelly will be cloudy
Measure the juice and add 1.25kg of sugar to every litre of liquid
Add the lemon juice and remainder of the sliced chillies
Gently heat the liquid and sugar, stirring occasionally to make sure that all the sugar has dissolved before bringing it slowly to the boil. Continue to boil for 5-10 minutes before testing for a set. Depending on how much jelly you're making this could take up to half and hour
When the jelly has reached setting point, (see this post about testing to see if it's ready) carefully pour it into warm sterilised jars using a funnel and ladle. Make sure that there's a bit of chopped chilli in each jar
Cover immediately with screw top lids

Keyword apple, chilli, jelly

Spiced apple chutney

There were still LOADS of apples left over after making an apple & blackberry pie a few weeks ago. I hate wasting food so had to do something with them. “I’ll make apple chutney!”, I thought.

My Cordon Bleu Preserving book contains recipes for 4 different versions of apple chutney however it was the spiced one that took my fancy (for this read, “It was the one where I already had all the ingredients in the house.”) This recipe makes a humongous amount of chutney, but it’s easily adapted if you don’t have that much fruit to preserve. It’s a steeper, the flavours mellow if the chutney is left a week or so before consuming. So far, we’ve discovered that it makes a delicious accompaniment to a cheeseboard. It really suits a creamy brie and sharp cheddar – not so much blue cheese. I’m vegetarian, but I’ve had it on good advice that it’s also very good with pork pie (Justin) and sausage rolls (Duncan). What do you recommend?

Spiced apple chutney

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Ingredients

36 large apples - peeled cored & sliced
1½ lbs/680g sultanas
3 lbs/1.4kg demerara sugar
4 oz/115g mustard seeds
2 fresh chillies sliced into rings
2 rounded tsps ground turmeric
2 oz/60g ground ginger
1½ lbs/680g onions halved & thinly sliced
6 cloves garlic peeled & crushed with salt
2 pts/1L vinegar I used distilled white vinegar, but you can use ordinary malt vinegar

Instructions

Put all the ingredients into a large pan (a jam pan is ideal) and simmer for 1½-2 hours until very soft and pulpy
Turn into sterilised jars and cover

A few tips for making successful chutneys, relishes & ketchups:

-1- Once opened a jar must be refrigerated and consumed within a week.

-2- Don't allow the vinegar to come into contact with with metal whilst in store.

-3- When preserving with vinegar, don't use copper or brass preserving pans. Use aluminium or stainless steel and only use enamelled iron pans if there are no chips to the enamel.

-4- It's important to cook chutneys and sauces thoroughly otherwise they will not keep.

Cakes & Bakes: Apple & blackberry pie

Every year around this time we are given a bucketful of home-grown apples from the neighbour of Justin’s parents. Because they’re generally tiny and malformed I’ve usually turned them into apple cheese (no peeling, no coring).

There were about half a dozen biggish ones this year, so I combined them with some of the remaining bramble offerings that I had stored in the freezer and made an apple & blackberry pie. I may have confessed in some previous post that I’m not the greatest pastry maker – but I was going to give it another go!

Apple & blackberry pie

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Cook Time 30

Total Time 30

Ingredients

For the pastry
350 g/12oz plain flour
80 g/3oz butter or margarine cubed
pinch of salt
4-5 tbs cold water
For the filling
450 g/1lb apples about 4 medium-sized apples
225 g/½lb blackberries
100 g/3½oz granulated sugar
For the glaze
3 tbs milk
25 g/1oz caster sugar

Instructions

Start by making the pastry. Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl, holding the sieve up as high as possible to give the flour an airing
Add the cubed butter/margarine to the flour
Using your fingertips, lightly & gently rub the pieces of fat into the flour, lifting your hands up high as you do this (again, to incorporate as much air as you can) and being as quick as possible
When the mixture looks uniformly crumbly, start to sprinkle roughly 4 tablespoons of cold water all over
Use a pastry blender or round-bladed knife to start the mixing
Carefully add more water as needed, a little at a time, then finally bring the mixture together with your hands to form a smooth ball of dough that will leave the bowl clean (if there are any bits won't adhere to it, you need a spot more water)
Divide the ball of dough in half and make 2 smaller balls
Put the balls into a zip-lock bag or wrap in cling film or foil and put them in the fridge for half an hour while you prepare the filling
At this point, preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/Gas mark 6
Wash & drain the blackberries and peel & slice the apples into 1cm chunks. Mix them together and set aside until the pastry is ready to come out of the fridge
Lightly grease a pie/flan dish (I save my butter wrappers for just this job!)
Take one of the balls of pastry from the fridge and roll it out so that it's about 4cm/2 inches wider than the pie dish
Carefully lift the rolled out pastry onto the pie dish using your rolling pin. Press the pastry down gently into the pie and up the sides
Spoon the apples & blackberries onto the pastry and sprinkle the granulated sugar on top
Take out the other ball of pastry from the fridge and roll it out so that it is large enough to form a lid on the pie
Using a pastry brush, dampen the edge of the bottom pastry case with water
Fix the pastry lid into position pressing it very firmly all round
Trim the edges with a knife
You can use these trimmings to make shapes to decorate the top of the pie - just affix them with a little brushing of water
Brush the top of the pie with a little milk then sprinkle on a dusting of caster sugar which will give a crisp surface when the pie is baked
Make a small hole in the centre of the pie for steam to escape
Put the pie on to a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes
Allow to cool a little on a wire rack, slice and serve
Serve with a little cream, vanilla ice cream or just on its own - although I think it's gorgeous with a dollop of clotted cream!