Raymond's Recipes CXIX - Bonny Bee's Spicy Plum Chutney

It's that time of year again, when the fruit rains down off the trees all over the northern lands, yet people ignore it and buy theirs from supermarkets selling it from somewhere else very far away for a whacking great profit. It always bewilders me, how people would prefer to pay copious amounts of cash to get their sprayed fruit out of plastic packaging at their local shop rather than go out to a nearby field and shake a tree. In any case, this tidy little lot came from our plum tree at the top of our garden, and a very nice little batch it is too.

This chutney is one to remember - a truly remarkable one that will go very nicely indeed with some decent sausages, a mature cheese or something grilled. 

The beautiful view from our plum tree

Ingredients:

1.5 kg plums - make sure they are halved, stoned and chopped how you like them. I like big pieces, but you might prefer them more finely sliced.
2 large red onions, chopped into short, thin pieces
100g raisins, roughly chopped or even left whole
1 litre wine vinegar, preferably red
1.5 tbsp ginger
1.5 tbsp mustard seed
1.5 tbsp cumin powder
1.5 tbsp paprika
1 tsp chilli powder
450g brown sugar
250g ordinary sugar



Instructions:Put everything except the sugar into a large thick-bottomed saucepan, slowly bring to the boil. Once it is at boiling point, turn down the heat, cover it and simmer for half an hour, allowing the ingredients to soften and blend.



Add the sugar gradually, stirring in to make sure it doesn't sink to the bottom and burn.

When putting into jars, make sure you use equipment that will help you spill as little as possible over surfaces and on the outside of the jars.



Note: To sterilise your jars, wash them thoroughly and place them in the oven on 100°C for 20 to 30 minutes beforehand. Put them in a cool, dry place and wait at least 10 days before you open a jar, as the flavours need some time to blend.

Recipe XCVIII - Hungarian Paprika Chicken

A part of the world brimming with culture and tradition, from the cowboy-like farmers of the Puszta plains past the talented Gipsy musicians enchanting Budapest to the noble rot winemakers of Tokaj, Hungary is a country that makes central Europe that little bit more like an ancestral homeland. What the locals speak of course, is incomprehensible: surrounded by Slavic and Germanic language speakers, Hungarian is from the incomprehensible Finno-Ugric strain and subtitlers give the Chinese a run for their money in one of the TV and film world's most thankless professions. Which may explain why they dub everything. And why, quite bafflingly, only 35% of Hungarians speak a foreign language. Nevertheless, when I was there, I found the food to be sensational, even if I needed to point at other diners' plates to get what I wanted.
This dish is one of the easiest and most delicious things you will ever cook, and you should immediately go out and buy the ingredients.

Ingredients:2 dessertspoonfuls of paprika*
1 dessertspoonful of plain flour*
1 large pinch of Cayenne pepper*
10 crushed peppercorns*
600g chicken breast
5-7 ripe tomatoes, quartered
2 onions, chopped
1 red or green pepper, cut into strips
1 pot of sour cream

300ml chicken stock
Some odourless oil

*Put these ingredients in a pot and mix thoroughly together

Instructions:
Put the chicken in a high-sided frying pan and fry until sealed. Add the onions, and stir up until they release their aroma. Sprinkle liberally all the spices over the meat and onions and mix well.

Add the tomatoes and crush them to release their juices. 

Pour over the chicken stock before the ingredients stick to the bottom, add the peppers and simmer with the lid on for up to 2 hours.

Just before you serve, pour sour cream into it and stir to form a marbled effect.



Serve with rice or boiled potatoes.