Now is the time of year when those of us who grow our own are largely over the runner bean! We've eaten them all summer and into the autumn, frozen them and finally left them on the plant as family members beg for a bean break!
So when it came time to clear the plants on Jaynes allotment there were lots of beans about to be thrown away - which fired me into action. 'Give them to me' I said (I didn't grow any this year so was slightly less bean jaded) 'I'll chutney them!' I could feel the scepticism.
I have history with Runner Bean Chutney, my Aunt Marg makes it and gave me a jar a few years ago. This inspired me to ask for the recipe which turned out to be a Nigel Slater. Nigel is good at seasonal recipes, I think he must grow his own, he often refers to 'using up gluts'.
It's an easy make and the full recipe and method is here (after the pear tart):
Previously I have always used young and tender beans - but these were slightly bendy and some of them pretty hoary! I went through them quite carefully, weeding out the toughest and stringing them a little more thoroughly than I might otherwise. The dark podded beans that you can see in the top image were all to tough and ended up in the compost ,but a large carrier bag of beans was whittled down to provide the 750g required. As you cut them you can gauge the toughness and usability quite well when you've done a few.
I shredded them slightly thinner than usual and cooked the mixture down for an extra 10 minutes. Otherwise I made it as the recipe says.
The house was filled with the spicy, vinegary smell of harvest.
Allspice berries (I had ground allspice so used half a tsp of that), coriander seed, yellow mustard seed, English mustard powder, wholegrain mustard and turmeric all combining to create a rich chutney loveliness.
and the jars were filled in no time.
It looked good enough, the extra cooking perhaps removed some of the beans green-ness but I love the colours just the same. I used red onions because I had them and they added colour too.
And I can confirm that the end of season beans have worked perfectly, no hint of toughness.
Delicious and yet another excuse for eating more cheese than is advisable!
Here are more of Nigel Slater's Golden Autumnal Recipes from The Guardian.
I can feel more kitchen time coming on - delicious!
🍂 😋 🍂
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