Courgettes are easy and quick to grow and typically yield prolific crops. The fruits must be picked as soon as they're ready or they'll quickly turn into marrows.
This means that courgette gluts are almost inevitable. Giving them away is the easiest option, but even that can prove difficult in peak season when every allotment holder is desperately offering up courgettes for free. In August, it's common to see buckets of excess courgettes in driveways in the hope that passers by will take some. I once put a bucketful by my front door with a sign that read, 'Please, PLEASE, help yourself.'
Preserving the glut is a more satisfying way to enjoy the seasonal bounty, and chutney is an excellent option because it uses a lot of courgettes. Plus, by January, I'm always delighted to open a jar of something green and remind myself of summer. This is when cooking with the seasons really shows its benefits and enables you to bring a little glimpse of summer to your cheese sandwich on a rainy winter's lunchtime.
How to make courgette chutney
Makes approximately 2.5kg
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 2 hrs and 45 mins
Ingredients
- 500ml cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
- 400g brown sugar (any brown sugar will work)
- 1 tbsp mixed spice
- 2 tbsp yellow mustard seed
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 4 onions, chopped
- 1kg courgettes, diced
- 1kg tomatoes, chopped
- 4 eating apples, peeled and diced
- 300g sultana
Method
- Put the vinegar, 300ml water, sugar and spices in a very large pan. Heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves then add the rest of the ingredients with a tsp of salt.
- Bring back to a simmer then simmer uncovered for 2 1/2 hours until darkened, thick and chutney-like
- To sterilise the jars, wash thoroughly in very hot soapy water. Rinse in very hot water then put on a baking sheet in a 140C/fan 120C/gas 1 oven until completely dry.
- Pour the chutney into the sterilised jars while still hot, seal and leave in a cool, dark place for at least three weeks before opening
This recipe was created by the team at our sister publication, BBC Good Food.
Serve with
The chutney keeps for several months in a cool, dark place and makes a handy homemade gift (but perhaps not until the winter when courgette fever has worn off). Label the jars when you store them so you don't forget the production date, storage instructions and any allergens (like mustard).
Courgette chutney is especially good with cheese and works well as part of a cheeseboard.
It also goes well with pork, so plays a central role in a classic Ploughman's lunch. Try this ploughman's sandwich from our friends at BBC Good Food.
You can experiment by adding one finely diced red chilli to the recipe above when you add the courgettes. This will make the chutney spicy. A spoonful of spicy courgette chutney is a quick way to liven up a homemade curry just before serving. It's also delicious with poppadoms and plain yogurt.