RECIPE: Quick and easy Apricot Chutney

I have been sent some of St Dalfour's delicious Thick Apricot Rhapsodie de Fruit to try, and today I am sharing a versatile and easy recipe that I created with it.

This isn't the kind of chutney you can put in a jar and keep for months, it's a "fresh" chutney intended for eating right away, although I should think that, if given chance, it would keep for a few days in the fridge. Not much chance of that in this house though!

It can be served with cheese, cold meats or curries but its real versatility is that, if served hot straight from the pan, it becomes a delicious sticky sweet-sour sauce, delicious with pork chops or sausages, so it's a two-in-one dish.

To serve two as a sauce or four as a chutney, you will need:

1 small onion
15g butter
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
3 tablespoons Thick Apricot Rhapsodie de Fruit

Chop the onion finely and fry in the butter over a low to medium heat until very soft but not coloured, about 10 minutes. Stir in the vinegar and apricot and allow to bubble until well mixed and starting to thicken.

Serve immediately if using as a sauce, or pour into a dish and allow to cool completely if using as a chutney.

I was serving this with a very hot curry, so I just made the basic chutney, but you could add some heat and spice by adding any of the following:

Black mustard seeds, added to the butter a few seconds before the onion
Black onion (kalonji) seeds, added to the butter a few seconds before the onion
Chopped red chilli added with the onion
Chopped fresh coriander added after removing from the heat

I would only add one or at most two at a time otherwise the flavours could get too confused!