Mango Chutney..

I found the recipe for Mango Chutney on the website locker.de and have followed it one-to-one. All the steps are very easily explained and all I can say is, that the Chutney tastes amazing!

Here is the recipe for the Mango Chutney.

To press the ginger through my garlic press worked really well.

It just splashed in all directions and only a little of the ginger landed inside of the pot.

That’s why I used a little more ginger, than recommended.

Back to top

Moroccan Salt Lemons..

Yes, they were supposed to be moroccan salt lemons, but I coincidentally stumbled over untreated Limequats.

I’ve never heard of this fruit, but now I know, Limequats are a mixture of limes and kumquats. The shell can be green or yellow and can be eaten. The fruit tastes bitter and sweet and has little edible seeds.

Salt lemons are a favored ingredients in the moroccan kitchen. The whole fruit gets preserved, but you only eat the shell! Cut in stripes it works with meat dishes and salads.

The following recipe is meant for lemons, so who doesn’t have Limequats by hand, best uses untreated thin-shelled lemons.

Moroccan Salt-Limequats

For one glass:

5-6 Limequats

3 tablespoons sea salt

3 lemon leaves

juice of a lemon

water

1.     Soak Limequats 4 days covered with cold water. Change the water daily.

2.     On day 5 cut in Limequats crisscross and scatter salt into the openings.

3.     Squeeze Limequats by hand a little and collect the juice in a preserving glass. After that also put in the fruit.

4.     Scatter the rest of the salt over the Limequats and add the lemon leaves and the lemon juice.

5.     Lastly fill the glass up to the brim with water, close tightly and put into a big pot. The glass shouldn’t be in contact with the bottom of the pot. For example put the glass on a kitchen towel. Fill the pot up to the brim of the glass tops with cold water and let boil slowly. As soon as the water starts to bubble, take the pot off the stove and let the glass cool down in the pot.

Back to top

Fig-Mustard Jam..

It is February and I convinced myself, that I absolutely had to make a fig-mustard jam.

What I didn’t think about was, that in February is no fig season and ONE fig costs up to $3 at the market. That was too expensive for me so Plan B came to use. My attempt to make jam out of dried figs.

Jam made out of dried figs proved to be pretty tasty too. Besides you don’t have to add extra sugar, since the sweetness of the dried figs already is concentrated.

Fig-Mustard Jam

1.1 Ibs dried figs

2 tablespoons mustard flour

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

water

1.     Cut the dried figs into little pieces and cover with water in a pot, let boil briefly and let soak over night.

2.     Add mustard flour and balsamic vinegar on the next day.

3.     Purée everything.

4.     Add some seasoning and maybe add a little water, until the mass reaches a jam-like consistency.

5.     Fill boiling water into prepared preserving jars, empty glasses and fill right away with hot jam up to the brim. Lid on and let cool upside down.

Goes very well with cheese and meat dishes.

Back to top

Ajvar..

After our visit in Belgrade I absolutely wanted to try to make Ajvar myself. After all it was my subsistence food there.

My dad and brother would get the Ajvar for their birthdays.

But my goal was, that Vladimir, my Ajvar specialist, would be satisfied with my Ajvar too. He was allowed to try the first glass and didn’t like it too much, because there was too much eggplant in it.

There are just a couple of ingredients, but the preparation is very lonesome. It took me one whole day from morning till midnight to make 4 glasses!

Now I know, why in Serbia grandma’s attend to this duty and why on dark and cold fall nights they sit comfortably together and peel and pluck paprikas. ‘Cause they have the time and especially patience.

  
Ajvar

8.8 Ibs pointed peppers

3 pieces eggplant

4 pieces onion

1 garlic tuber

chili as you like

1 cup olive oil

salt

white wine vinegar

juice of 1 lemon

pepper

a little sugar

1.     The pepper needs to be peeled and that is the most time-consuming work during the Ajvar preparation. A really petty work.

Therefor wash the pepper, cut in half and clean. Then roast at 392F for about 20-40min. With my oven it took up to 40 min until you could peel them.

2.     Peel the eggplant and cut with onion in squares. Roast both with a little oil.

3.     When you’re done peeling the pepper, don’t cut them, but pluck into little pieces!

According to Vladimir you can distinguish a good Ajvar through that. So don’t cut them in little squares, otherwise it’s called relish or puréed, that would really be a shame.

4.     Put pepper into the pot with eggplant and onion and add the rest of the oil.

5.     Who likes it a little spicier, also can add cut hot chilis. I used 3 chilis, since my dad only likes it half-spicy.

6.     Press garlic and add.

7.     Season with salt, vinegar, lemon juice, pepper and maybe a little sugar.

8.     Let simmer for around 3 hours, until all ingredients merged into a viscid whole.

9.     Fill boiling water in prepared preserve jars, empty glasses and fill right away with hot Ajvar up to the brim. Lid on and let cool upside down. So the Ajvar stays edible for a long time.

My conclusion: I think it tasted really good, but until next time it probably will take a couple of years.

In the meantime I recommend, if you want to try a really tasty Ajvar and don’t want to cook it yourself, to buy Ajvar at Bakina Tajna. It is actually made by grandmas’ in the traditional way! Well, I don’t know wether that’s true, but it tastes excellent and according to Vladimir, compared to the one bought at the supermarket, it is the real deal!

Back to top

And the pickled continues..

Because my dad was so enthusiastic about the preserved treats on christmas, he would get another load for his birthday.

This time it would be Ajvar, Fig-Mustard Jam, Mango Chutney and preserved Moroccan Salt Lemons though.

Back to top