Ingredients

• 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• 2 red onions
• sliced
• 2 garlic cloves
• finely chopped
• 2 tsp finely chopped fresh root ginger (or stem ginger in syrup
• drained and finely chopped)
• 200g/7oz ready to eat dried apricots
• quartered
• 150g/5½oz soft dried figs
• quartered
• 100g/3½oz raisins
• 150g/5½oz demerara sugar
• 150ml/5fl oz white wine vinegar
• ¼ whole nutmeg
• finely grated
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 tsp sea salt flakes
• freshly ground black pepper

Directions

• Heat the oil in a large non-reactive saucepan and fry the onions over a low heat for 10 minutes
• or until very soft but not coloured.
• Add the garlic and ginger
• and cook for a further 2-3 minutes.
• Increase the heat slightly and fry for a further 4-5 minutes
• until the onions begin to brown
• stirring constantly.
• Add the apricots
• figs and raisins to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes
• or until the dried fruit begins to plump up a little.
• Sprinkle over the sugar
• add the vinegar
• spices and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• Stir well and bring to a gentle simmer
• and cook
• uncovered
• for 30 minutes
• stirring occasionally. (The chutney is more likely to stick towards the end of the cooking time so pay particular attention to stirring then.)
• The chutney is ready when the liquid has reduced to just 4-5 tablespoons
• and the fruit looks plump and glossy. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. As the chutney cools stir it a little to distribute the moisture.
• Spoon the chutney into sterilised jars.