I first discovered making fig chutney last year when we moved to southern France. In this part of the country, the luscious fruit starts appearing on the tree in late June but it takes the whole summer for it to ripen, become lusciously sweet, and ready to be picked. And when it is, it abounds. My favorite way of eating them is raw, either alone, on a fruit plate, or in a salad. But after a while, there are just too many to digest! So I make a crumble. And then a pie or a galette. And another crumble. And another pie. I give some away, I freeze the rest…and then there are more. At this point, most people would resort to jam. But I prefer to make chutney – why? Because chutney is a genius condiment. It complements a variety of dishes – from game and meat (the French love it with duck) to cheese boards and curries. This recipe is inspired by David Liebovitz, an American chef/author who lives in France, and whose blog I absolutely love. I’ve had the luxury of making this delightful chutney many, many times and have tweaked a couple of things (less sugar, a few different spices…) but the essence of his recipe is there. I am sure you will love it.
In fact, I think it is so good that I like to gift it, so maybe do that next time you are invited over for dinner, or for the upcoming holidays.
Now, there is something to address that often makes people shy away from making any preserves: the sterilization process. For me, the whole sterilization thing was as big a hurdle as kneading is for bread making. Really though – it is super simple. There are several methods – including the upside-down I tend to use suggested by Le Parfait jam jars in their carrot jam recipe – but choose whichever method you prefer because there are pros and cons to all of them. Or simply eat the chutney within the 10 days that follow.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 red onion, peeled and diced into small cubes
- A 4-5 cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated finely
- 1/2 tsp ground allspice
- 1 tbsp crushed coriander seeds
- 4 crushed cloves (or 1/2 tsp powdered cloves)
- 2 to 3 tbsp brown mustard seeds
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 tsp salt
- Juice and zest of one organic lemon
- 1/2 cup / 100 g coconut sugar
- 1/2 cup / 125 ml apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup / 80 g dried raisins/cranberries or apricots
- 4 cups/600 g figs, cut into small quarters*
* I never peel the figs, but I do snip off the tops before roughly chopping them
Instructions
- Heat oil on medium heat in a heavy saucepan. Add onion and let cook gently until translucent, around 5-7 minutes.
- Toss gently and add all the ingredients except the figs. Let simmer for 12-15 minutes. Add figs and let simmer for 15-20 minutes over medium heat (it should be bubbling gently), scraping the bottom of the pot regularly. It should reach the consistency of a jam. If it gets too dry, add one or two tbsp of hot water and let simmer for another 2 minutes.
- Immediately pour the piping hot chutney into sterilized jars and close tightly with the lids. I then flip the jars upside down for a few minutes to seal them. Let cool and label. If you want to consume it immediately simply pour into a jar, let cool, seal and keep in the fridge for up to 10 days.
