When Life Gives You Lemons

As the saying goes ... Make this fabulous lemon chutney or lemonade (cordial), lemon butter, preserved lemons and candied peel. Recipes for all of these can be found here

It is important to salt and leave the chopped lemons for twenty four hours, this helps to remove a lot of the bitterness from the lemon rind and pith and seems to break down the lemons a little. I rinse or rinse then soak the lemons in cold water and then drain again before making the chutney.

The chutney goes very well with barbecued chicken or with leftover cold roast chicken / meat and salad.

I also like it mixed  into some into good quality mayonnaise, then add cooked, chopped chicken and avocado and use it as a sandwich filling.

Lemon Chutney

Step 1 750 g lemons, finely chopped 2 tablespoons salt

Step  2 lemons from step 1, rinsed 1 1/2 cups raw sugar 1 cup lemon juice 1 cup apple cider vinegar 250 g dates, chopped 1 tablespoon green ginger, finely chopped 1 tablespoon garlic, finely chopped 1 tablespoon coriander seeds 2 teaspoons cardamom powder 1 teaspoon white pepper 1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes 1 tablespoon of salt

Method

Step 1

Wash and finely chop the lemons. I used a food processor and the pulse function

Place chopped lemons in a non reactive bowl (stainless steel, glass or plastic) Add the salt and mix well. Allow lemons to stand for 24 – 48 hours.

Drain of liquid, rinse well and drain again.

Step 2

Combine lemons and remaining ingredients in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to the boil and then simmer for 30 minutes or until thick. Stir often as it will tend to stick as it thickens

Spoon into sterilised jars.