PEAR PICKLE

MRS OLIVER’S FAVOURITE SPICY RECIPE My mum’s delicious spiced pear and apple pickle is wonderful and can be used in so many different ways, from cheese platters to sandwiches, to spice up a gravy, or with hot or cold meats. It’s the perfect gift, for a lo

MAKES APPROX 2KG 2 HOURS 20 MINUTES PLUS COOLING 4 fresh red chillies 2 large red onions ½ a bulb of garlic 10cm piece of ginger 4 cardamom pods 1 heaped tablespoon black peppercorns 2 teaspoons fenugreek seeds 3 tablespoons sunflower oil 3 tablespoons yellow mustard seeds 2 teaspoons ground cumin 1 tablespoon ground turmeric 2kg pears 1kg Bramley cooking apples 400g dark muscovado sugar 500ml cider vinegar ♥ Deseed and finely slice the chillies, then peel and finely chop the onions, garlic and ginger. Crack the cardamom pods in a pestle and mortar and pick just the inner seeds into the mortar, discarding the husks. Finely grind the seeds with the peppercorns and fenugreek seeds until fine. Put a very large pan on a medium heat to get nice and hot. Put the oil and mustard seeds into the pan, then, as soon as the seeds start to pop, add the crushed cardamom mixture, the cumin, turmeric and 1 tablespoon of sea salt. Stir and cook for 2 minutes, then add the chillies, onions, garlic, ginger and a splash of water. Cook gently for 5 minutes, or until softened, stirring occasionally, while you peel, core and chop the pears and apples, adding them to the pan as you go. Stir in the sugar, vinegar and 100ml of water. Bring to a simmer, then cook on a low heat for around 2 hours, or until you have a sticky, jammy pickle, stirring occasionally. ♥ While the pickle is cooking, sterilise some jars for storing (see right). Once cooked, divide between sterilised jars, label up and get gifting. It will keep for up to 6 weeks in a cool, dark place. Once opened, keep in the fridge and use within a couple of weeks. HOW TO STERILISE JARS To sterilise jars, lids and a spoon for dividing up your wares, either submerge them in a very large pan of boiling water for 10 minutes, then leave to dry, or put them through the hottest cycle on your dishwasher. NUTRITION PER SERVING 24 kcal; 0.4g fat (0.1g saturated); 0.2g protein; 5.1g carbs; 5g sugars; 0.1g salt; 0.5g fibre. ➤