Life's Too Short Marmalade

There are no better gifts than those you make yourself, and I absolutely love giving preserves I make to friends and family; the only exception being this marmalade.
I'm so conflicted about this, but it doesn't give a high yield, (there's no water added, relatively low sugar content) and it's all about real, intense fruit flavour. So I have this overwhelmingly selfish impulse to keep it and not give it away. Very conflicting. 

It's a challenge to cut down sugar content in preserves, but it is perfectly possible to achieve this to let real flavours shine. Most of our commercial producers are missing the point, I believe, and therefore consumers are missing out. It's so easy to make your own pickles, chutneys, relishes, jams and jellies, just choose seasonal to minimise cost, maximise flavour and say no to preservatives and colourings! (You won;t be sorry).

Life’s Too Short Marmalade

This marmalade is for those who like the best in life, a little more time - consuming in terms of yield, but absolutely worth it. The secret is in the method; flavor is maximized by keeping sugar to a minimum, and no water is added – it’s just fruit flesh, zest, and a minimum of sugar to preserve and enhance the flavours. You simply can’t buy marmalade as good as this unless expense doesn’t matter.

The flavours here are bold and intensely orange, but balanced by the lime to create a particularly delicious spread.

Use all oranges for this marmalade if you prefer, or experiment with other citrus.

Makes 2 x 350g jars.

1 kg thin skinned oranges

250g limes (3-4, depending on size)

500g sugar

2 Tbsp peeled and finely chopped fresh ginger (optional)

Using a zester,* preferably, or a floating blade peeler, remove the zest from all the fruit, ensuring that none of the pith is attached. Roughly chop the long strips of zest if a zester has been used. or finely slice the peeled zest into fine julienne lengths, and chop roughly. Transfer to a large saucepan.

With a sharp knife, pare the pith from all the fruit and discard.

Dice the fruits small, about 5mm (¼ inch), discarding any core or obvious membrane. Try not to lose any juice.

Transfer the diced fruit and juice to the saucepan with the zest, stir in the sugar and bring to simmer point.

Simmer, uncovered, for 25 - 30 minutes, stirring regularly. 

 Test by placing ½ teaspoon of the marmalade on a saucer to cool then nudging with a finger. If the surface ripples, it is ready to pour into hot sterilized jars and cover with sterilized metal screw on lids.

*A zester has a truncated ‘blade’ with 6 small holes.

Of Lemons and Snow

Blogging hasn't been on my mind over the last 6 weeks; that's what a family crisis will do to you, on top of which I'm at the other end of the country and away from home, work and routines - just saying. . .
Before I left home, however, I picked lemons and preserved them as I find them so useful for so many dishes - soups, finely chopped into dips, sauces, lots of different rice dishes, couscous, lentils, pizza seafood toppings, tagines etc. They're also really good sliced, with or without the preserved flesh, on fresh ciabatta with baby watercress, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil.

I make three different kinds of preserved lemons and limes, and use them all as and when the mood takes me - traditional pickled lemons which are very salty, but of course when finely chopped and cooked, the salt and lemon flavours just infuse into the dish. I especially enjoyed adding finely chopped lemon ( rind and flesh) to a tomato sauce with fish recently. Sometimes I just use the rind and discard the flesh, other times I use both, depending on the dish. At the beginning of the season I use a quick method because I'm an impatient type and I've either given my stock away or used them all - then I make a slower maturing method to enjoy and keep for the year (we can live in hope).

Traditional (salty) preserved lemons

The latter two methods I find slightly more useful  - sugar gives them more versatility, especially for adding to dips, for example, or just for dipping into for a nibble.

                                                         Preserved Limes (or Lemons)

Sealing the jars is not strictly necessary, as these preserves keep well, for at least a year.

Makes 1 x litre jar, or 2 x 500g jars.

10-12 limes, depending on size

5 Tbsp rock salt (not fine)

6cm ginger, peeled and sliced

6-8 dried red chillies (optional)

1½ cups sugar

1 cup white vinegar

Wash the limes and slice each into six, lengthways. Cover the bottoms of two sterilized 500g jars or one 1 x litre jar. The jars don’t need to be hot but should be warm, as hot syrup will be poured into them when packed.

Sprinkle over 1 tsp of the rock salt and repeat the layer of lime slices and salt, distributing the chillies and ginger between the layers.

Heat the white vinegar and the sugar in a saucepan and simmer 3-5 minutes, uncovered. Stir regularly.

Pour the syrup over the limes and screw on a hot sterilised lid (s) or clip-lid jars.

Leave at room temperature for 4 weeks, then store in a cool dark place  - in this way they will keep for at least a year and should not need refrigerating. Basically, operate on the assumption that the longer they are kept, the better they will be. 

While I'm at it, it's quite uplifting to be thinking of lemons while there's snow outside . . .exciting!

Early morning Lake Hawea, June 20th, 2013

Harvest chutneys - Eggplants and Feijoas

When I had four young children and was working from home, I found myself spending at least 3-4 months a year making chutneys, pickles and relishes. This became something of an institution in our house, as I realised I could transform anything, from tasty cheddar on biscuits to a sausage (our three boys like vegetarian meals but also enjoy meat) by adding a great chutney, pickle or relish without costing much at all. School lunches were coveted by other kids and I didn't have to spend my life baking to have something to offer visitors - crackers and cheese with a home -made chutney was appreciated so much more. Best of all, even the humblest meal in our house was never boring, despite the financial constraints; there was always a jar of something to add interest, texture and flavour. I enjoyed the creative challenge of pushing boundaries, adding new flavours or testing new products, and I still do.

Eggplants are so versatile, and I make lots of different dishes with them; risotto, fritters, lasagne, moussaka, pies, pasta and dips, to mention just a few. I also make a very authentic Indian pickle that is not as sweet as the brinjal below, just as delicious though completely different.

About ten years ago, after lots of trials, I developed a brinjal (eggplant) chutney, and this became my most universally popular chutney ever. Everyone loves it ; I even have a friend who numbers every jar because her husband and son are so proud they sneak jars to give to their friends behind her back! Certainly it's top of the request list from my friends and family, and although time is running out I bought a big bag of eggplants for $4.00 at our local Farmer's market last Sunday, to make another double batch.

                                             Brinjal                     

     

This eggplant chutney literally took years to perfect, but is universally popular. Sweet but piquant, it complements curries, cheeses, pastries and just about anything.

Makes about 2 ½ litres.

Use processed garlic and ginger to save time.

2 large eggplant, about 500g each

4 tsp salt

¼ cup tamarind concentrate*

1 cup oil

¼ cup mustard seed (I use yellow)

100g crushed garlic

100g minced ginger

2 Tbsp fenugreek seed

2 Tbsp coriander seed

2 Tbsp cumin seed

1 Tbsp chilli powder

3 x 410g tins peeled tomatoes in juice, chopped

1 cup malt vinegar

1 kg sugar

Slice the unpeeled eggplant into small (¼ inch –5mm) dice. Place in a colander, sprinkled evenly or tossed with the salt. Set aside over a sink or bowl to drain for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the remaining ingredients.

Heat the oil in a large, heavy based pot or jam pan, over a medium high heat. Add the mustard seeds and heat until they start to pop. Remove from the heat and stir in the fenugreek, coriander and cumin seeds followed by the garlic, ginger and chilli powder. Return to a lowered heat and cook, stirring, for about 4 minutes. Stir in the salted and drained eggplant without rinsing or patting dry – just shake the colander before adding the eggplant, then sauté for 3-4 minutes.

Stir in the chopped tomatoes with juice, ¼ cup of tamarind pulp, vinegar and the sugar.

Simmer the mixture, uncovered, for about 1½ hours, stirring occasionally. Oil should rise to the surface after about an hour, and further cooking produces a medium-thick chutney, reduced to almost half the original volume.

Bottle in hot, sterilized jars with hot, sterilized screw on lids. 

*Take 125g from a block of tamarind pulp, available from any Asian food store. Break it up and soak in one cup of hot water for 15 minutes, breaking it up further as it soaks. Push it through a sieve and discard leftover fibre and seeds. Measure out the amount required and freeze the excess for future use.

An acceptable substitute to making your own concentrate is tamarind paste, available from Asian outlets (especially the Pantai norasingh brand).  

And this week, the feijoas started falling

And I do mean by the trailor load! However, another favourite chutney is . .

Smoke & Lime Feijoa Chutney

Both recipes will be in my new cookbook, 'Rowan Bishop- with Relish ' due for release early October.
After the feijoas come figs and persimmons, and in between are limes and lemons to preserve. . .