Citrus Chutney

Have a lemon or orange tree? Turn the fruit into a one-of-a-kind chutney for curries.

An original, memorable, maximum taste with minimal effort.

I promised you my chutney recipe some weeks ago when I published the curry recipe and of course, with all the upheaval on our plantet, forgot about it until today when I saw my beautiful pruned lemon tree offering its bounty for spring.

But here it is finally, just when so many citrus trees are popping out their bounty.

Our lemon tree

Our neighbor’s navel orange tree

This is my original citrus chutney, created long ago because I found no citrus chutney on the market, but it is also very tasty with chicken, pork, and turkey. This chutney was born in my kitchen in Los Angeles when we built our first house on property that had an Amalfi lemon tree in the garden, and now that we have a Four Seasons lemon tree in France, in the garden of our third house, there are even more lemons to dispose of!

As in over 200 last season. I finally put a batch out on our little village street with a sign to help yourself but leave a few for your neighbors!

And neighbors and even total strangers are glad to take a few, but having so many lemons and my next door neighbor’s navel oranges helps me turn out many jars of this tangy citrus chutney that makes wonderful gifts for curry-lovers.

Our lovely lemons and my neighbor’s oranges are grown organically, so no pesticides or sprays to worry about.

I have also simplified this process, as I do with many recipes that started out long ago when I was younger and experimenting with more formidable challenges, by using the bowl of my food processor to chop the citrus skins, but one could easily toss in the onion, garlic and apple to save even more time.

Okay, okay I have done that and it works. Anything to shorten the process is fine with me if it gets the same results. I don’t think anyone will fault you for not chopping by hand and if someone does, no chutney for THAT one!

Short cuts happen, thank heaven, after what seems like several eons of cooking…

The chutney

1/3 cup olive oil

6 large lemons, seeds removed, chopped coarse

3 large navel seedless oranges, chopped coarse

2 sweet onions, peeled and chopped coarse

5 cloves garlic, chopped fine

1 large apple, peeled, cored, and chopped coarse

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon curry powder

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

Pinch of clove

Pinch of black pepper

Pinch of hot red pepper

Pinch of salt

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated

1 1/2 cups brown sugar (you may wish more in the end but I like a sharp chutney)

3/4 cup yellow or black raisins or currants

Juice the citrus and set the juice aside.

In the bowl of a food processor, put the juiced skins of the citrus, the onion, garlic and the apple and pulse until the mixture is chopped into about 1/2-inch pieces. You may need to do this in two batches so as not to liquify the ingredients.

In a large pot with a lid, heat the olive oil and add all of the spices to toast then for a minute or two.

Add the chopped fruit and vegetable mixture and cook for another few minutes until the onion is translucent.

Add all of the juice from the fruit and stir well.

Add the sugar and raisins and stir well.

Simmer over very low heat, covered, until the smell drives you nuts.

If the mixture looks too dry, stir it well from the bottom so as to prevent burning, and add a bit more of orange juice or lemon juice, depending on the sweetness you prefer. Fresh-squeezed supermarket orange juice is fine but no bottled lemon juice, which often tastes fake.

I have also added a touch of balsamic vinegar at one time, but I like citrus juice and sugar only so that the citrus will shine through without competition.

The mixture must not burn (add more juice or a little water if necessary) and should be shiny and tender when done, after about 45 minutes of low, low simmering.

Spoon immediately into glass jelly jars with sealing lids and seal tightly, or keep in plastic containers in the fridge for many weeks, the surface brushed with a little olive oil.

If a little bit of “penicillin” dots your chutney over time, simply remove it and brush the top of the chutney with olive oil again.

This chutney also freezes well.

My chutney stays refrigerated for weeks, we eat it, and we’re still here.

Even my rogue lemons are thrilled to be included…!