I use our own organically grown Scarlet Runner beans, delicious steamed for dinner but also in this chutney that was passed on to me by my cherubs' Great Grandma.
I remember spending many a happy school holiday on her lifestyle block in Shropshire, England. Summers running through hay filled meadows, along the canal banks and returning as the golden sun dipped behind the trees, falling happily, exhausted, into bed.
My 'Nana' built on my interest in growing things and picking it to eat fresh and untouched by man-made spray - something my wonderful Grandad and Nanny in Cheshire had started with their council house back garden and it's majestic pear tree. Spicy aromas and bubbling pots filled her kitchen as I watched her convert her excess produce into preserved goodies for future use.
Great Grandma/Nana greets 2013 in her early 90's and is still that lady I remember from my childhood, just a little more frail and unable to grow and harvest and preserve as she has done for so long. She is delighted to see me taking up the reins and I thank her for her knowledge and her yummy, yummy produce.
2lbs runner beans, sliced
1 1/2 lbs onions, diced
1 1/2 vinegar (e.g. cider vinegar)
2 lbs sugar (she used demarara..... I use raw cane sugar)
1 1/2 Tbsp cornflower
1 Dsp turmeric
1 tsp dry mustard (I use English Mustard)
a little salt
(Mix the cornflour, turmeric, dry mustard and a little salt in a little of the vinegar to make a paste)
- Cook the cut beans in saltwater until tender
- Strain and chop (this can be done to your own preference)
- Cook the onions in 1/2 pint vinegar until tender
- Add rest of vinegar and the beans to the onions
- Cook for 15 mins (Great Grandma actually writes 'Boil')
- Add the sugar and the cornflour paste
- Cook for 10 mins (again - Great Grandma actually writes 'Boil')
Makes (I love this bit of her notes) about 8 assorted jars........ ah the good old days
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