Our Easter meal was heavily out of Darina Allen’s wonderful Grow Cook Nourish. I have to admit, I’d never had a mint chutney with apple, but this was really, really a delight — just a lovely mate to the rack of lamb we were serving. Lamb must, of course, be sided with mint but there is life beyond mint jelly.
The recipe and technique are out of Darina’s book. We deviated, Southwestern Style. Suzi added one diced habanero pepper and a splash of rice vinegar. It’s a sizzling delight. Not quite Irish anymore but surely American.
Oops, Darina wants this all put in a food processor. We were cooking a bunch of things and in that final dash to the table just forgot to process it. Salsa, not chutney? No problem.
Fresh Mint Chutney
Yield: serves 4 to 6
Ingredients:
1 large apple, peeled, cored, and cut into smallish chunks
Large handful of mint leaves, diced
⅓ cup diced white onion
2-4 tablespoons superfine sugar depending on the tartness of the apple [and to be adjusted if you add that habanero and vinegar]
Cayenne pepper
Preparation:
To make the fresh mint chutney, blend all the ingredients in a food processor, then season with salt and a little cayenne pepper.
Source: Grow Cook Nourish by Darina Allen [Kyle Books, 2017]
Photo Information: Canon T2i, EFS 60mm Macro Lens, F/4 for 1/30th second at ISO‑125