[Lindeggs]

This chutney can be eaten immediately.  I don't know how well it will store long term so I'm refrigerating the jars - although at the rate it's disappearing I don't think I'll have to worry about that!

This all started because yesterday my neighbour gave me a single beetroot that weighed 1kg after trimming and peeling.  It was about the size of a rugby ball!  Usually I would roast beetroot but this one looked like it would be very woody so I decided to make it into chutney.  Because it is grated, the woodiness doesn't matter at all.

I have tried to give imperial measures but the whole thing is pretty much guesswork based on one enormous beetroot so you might need to adapt the recipe accordingly.  I would have liked to add raisins but my hubby doesn't like them in his chutney. 

Giant beetroot chutney

1kg (2lbs) beetroot, grated
500g (1lb) onion, grated or chopped finely
2 cups sugar (I used 1 cup raw sugar & 1 cup brown sugar)
1 tablespoon salt
Vinegar to just cover everything (around 500ml [2 cups])
Spices to taste - I used about 10 whole cloves, 10 peppercorns and 1 teaspoon each of hot chilli powder and ground ginger
Half a cup of plain flour mixed to a thin paste with water

Put the beetroot, onion, sugar & spices onto a big stock pot.  Pour in enough vinegar to just cover everything, simmer for 25 minutes.  Add the flour & water, return to the boil and simmer for another 5 minutes.

Spoon the chutney into sterilised jars for storage.

[Lindeggs]

By the way, my three beetroot-handling tips are:

1) Wear a bib-front apron or old clothes in case of splashes

2) Wear rubber gloves unless you like bright pink hands

3) Before you start, fill a basin with clean water so you can rinse as you go - I rinsed the white parts of my food processor, my silicone spatula, wooden spoon, etc as soon as I had finished with them and nothing got stained.

[martywolfman]

oooh. that sounds delicious. I'm gonna have to try this when the beetroots get themselves grown!

thanks for the tip

[plum crumble]

yummmm!!!!thanks for that