Jono & Jules do food & wine

This is Nigel Slater’s dark and sticky fruit chutney from Kitchen Diaries II. The chutney is nice with cheese or cold cuts. Figs are expensive but they don’t keep for long so you often find them reduced to clear in shops. 

A dark and stick fruit chutney – makes a few jars

• 250g soft brown sugar
• 8 large figs, about 1kg, roughly chopped and stalks removed
• 150ml malt vinegar
• 150ml cider vinegar
• 250g chopped onions
• 250g sultanas
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp allspice
• half a tsp black peppercorns, cracked
• 1 tsp coriander seeds

Warm the sugar in a bowl in a low oven. 

Put the chopped figs into a large, stainless steel or enamelled saucepan. Add the vinegars, onions, sultanas, salt, allspice, cracked peppercorns and coriander seeds, then bring to the boil. Simmer for 30 minutes, until the onions and fruit are soft. 

Stir in the sugar. Bring slowly to the boil, then turn the heat down and allow to bubble very gently. Cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring now and then to prevent it sticking, until thick and jam consistency. Bottle while hot and seal. 

(Original recipe from The Kitchen Diaries II by Nigel Slater, Fourth Estate, 2012.)