Green Bean Chutney

This chutney recipe is one you don't come across very often. If you grow green beans though it can be a very useful way of using up excess crop. Strictly speaking it is more of a pickle recipe but you thicken it with flour to get a spreadable mix.

Ingredients

2.5 pounds green beans cut up small. Remove hard strings and pointy ends if they are tough, otherwise just chop them up.
2 pounds soft brown sugar
1 small cup dry mustard
2 tabsp turmeric
1.5 pints vinegar (white)
1 cup plain flour
celery stalk.

Method

1. Cook the beans. (leave crunchy)
2. Make the mustard, turmeric and flour to a smooth paste with a little vinegar.
3. Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar and then stir in the flour paste. ( It is easier to add the vinegar to the flour a bit at a time until the flour mixture is thin enough to pour straight into the warmed vinegar, or you get a claggy mess.)
4.Boil for five minutes and then add the beans and finley chopped celery. Cook for a little longer and then pot.
5. This chutney tastes better when aged for at least a month.

By varying the flour amount you can get a thicker or thinner mix. Try adding chilli for a spicy mix. If you want a true chutney for you green beans try piccallili or chow chow.

For a more varied pickle I have added chopped cauliflower.

I've just been sent an alternative to try.

Ingredients

2 medium onions, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
Black seeds from 15 cardamom pods
1 tsp ground cumin
1tsp fenugreek seeds
half tsp chilli flakes
120ml vegetable oil
2tbsp granulated sugar
100ml white wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
750g runner beans, trimmed and cut into 1-1.5 cm chunks

Method

Gently cook the onion, garlic and spices in the vegetable oil for 3-4 minutes without colouring until soft. Add the sugar and vinegar, season and simmer for a couple of minutes. Add the beans, cover with water, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 30 minutes. Remove from the pan, leave to cool and store in sterilised jars in a cool place for up to a couple of months. If you want to keep the chutney longer, the jars should be vacuum sealed.

I've not tried this one yet but it does sound more like the real deal chutney wise.