There is this restaurant on Goodge Street called Salt Yard where I went with some friends a few months back and had a most excellent tapas experience (for reviews, check out this post, especially the link to thepassionatecook). You can tell that the owners love what they do. How? From the perfect selection of items on the menu and ingredients, and the love and care put into preparation and presentation raising the taste of everything a notch. Food is weird like that.
Piece de la resistance that night was a platter with a fantastic selection of cheese, served with a chutney. Now, if you come here somewhat regularly, you probably realised by now that I have a slight fascination for all things mustard. No surprise then that I had to ask the waiter how they made this chutney, labelled as "mustard fruit chutney" on the menu.
I love coming home finding a bar napkin in my pocket with a recipe scribbled on it.
This is he recipe for mustard fruit chutney I found based on what the waiter at Salt Yard told me and some creative googling for instructions, and it tastes very much like what we were served that night.
Mustard fruit chutney, inspired by Salt Yard
Original recipe is available at Anne's Recipes. Based on Salt Yard bar napkin I have replaced sugar with honey.
Ingredients (1 batch, makes just under a litre):
1 tbsp water
2 tsp mustard powder
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup cider vinegar
2
1 mango, peeled, seeded and diced
1/3 cup seedless raisins
1 sm onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp salt
Method
Stir water into mustard in small cup.
Combine the sugar/honey and vinegar ina medium-size saucepan. Bring to a boil; stirring to dissolve sugar/honey. Boil gently for 10 minutes.
Add pears, mango, raisins, mustard mixture, onion, garlic, ginger, pepper flakes and salt. Boil gently, stirring occasionally until most of the liquid evaporates and the fruit is tender; 30 minutes according to the original recipe, but I have usually let it boil about 45 minutes.
Cool completely. Serve cold. Refrigerate, covered, for up to 1 week.
Serve it with a selection of strong hard cheese (make sure to include some Manchego from Brindisa at Borough Market), or with the poppodums next time you decide to cook something Indian.
URL: Salt Yard web site
URL: Reviews on Salt Yard
URL: Brindisa at Borough Market, Manchego cheese
