Gooseberries

...are funny little things, aren't they? They're hairy, the bushes are full of thorns, and to be honest, I am not a great fan of them. They do, however, grow in our garden and I thought it'd be a real shame to let them go to waste.

I made gooseberry jam last year and gave both jars away as pressies to people so I can't even tell you what it tested like! So, this year, I decided to try and make gooseberry chutney instead.

I followed a recipe by one of Yorkshire's hottest man (after Mr T of course): James Martin!

James Martin (not Mr T!)

You can find the recipe here.

I had to be a bit creative. I did not have mustard powder (I just used mustard) and could not find green peppercorn in Migros so bought a peppercorn mix (black, white, green, pink).

Simmer gooseberries, onions, garlic, mustard and peppercorn in (a lot of ) good quality cider vinegar.

Then add sugar, raisins and some more vinegar (I think the recipe calls for too much vinegar really, it stang so much I could not breathe).

Simmer some more until thick and syrupy.

Note how it does not look anything like the picture on the original recipe!

I guess the chutney is quite versatile, you can have it with whatever you fancy. I had mine with onion bhajis this lunch time! Unconventional :-)
It tastes nice but I think I will definitely put slightly less vinegar/more sugar next time.

Does anyone have other ideas of preserves/dishes to make using gooseberries?