CASSIE’S SOLUTIONS

This Christmas senior food editor Cassie Best saves you time and money with fuss-free recipes that are great for giving

Homemade foodie gifts to save you time and money

Apple, date & tamarind chutney

Tamarind adds a lovely lip-puckering sourness to this fruity chutney. Look for a tamarind paste rather than a tamarind sauce that will have added sugar, vinegar and spices. You may only be able to find tamarind pulp (in the international food aisle of your local supermarket) – if so, soak 20g in enough boiling water to cover for 5 mins, then mash well with a fork and sieve, pushing through as much liquid as you can to make the tamarind paste.

MAKES 2 x 500ml jars PREP 15 mins COOK 1 hr EASY V

900g Bramley apples, peeled, cored and chopped

400g eating apples, peeled, cored and sliced

2 onions, halved and sliced

1 large red chilli, deseeded and chopped 400g light muscovado sugar 250ml cider vinegar

100g stoned dates, chopped

25g ginger, peeled and finely chopped 2 tbsp tamarind paste

11/2 tsp salt

1 Tip all the ingredients, into a preserving pan. Warm over a low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves. Turn up the heat a little, then let the mixture boil until the Bramley apples have broken down to a pulp, but the eating apples still hold their shape. Stir occasionally to stop the chutney from sticking. This can take from 45 mins to 1 hr. You can tell that it is ready by running your wooden spoon through the mixture. Your spoon should briefly leave a channel in the mixture, and there shouldn’t be liquid pooling into the space.

2 Whilst the chutney cooks, sterilise your jars (see tip, right). When the chutney is ready, pot the mixture into the jars. Can be eaten within a few days, but is best left for a few weeks to mellow and mature. Will keep for at least a year.

GOOD TO KNOW vegan • low fat • gluten free PER TBSP 22 kcals • fat 0.1g • saturates 0g • carbs 5g • sugars 5g • fibre 0.3g • protein 0.1g • salt 0.1g