Runner bean chutney is something I've eaten at friend's houses, but never made myself. This year, while many crops in the garden have done badly due to the bad weather, the beans have romped away. So, to use up a bit of a glut, I picked a trug of the larger of both runner and green beans and set about this recipe.

  See here for the runner bean chutney recipe in more detail.

Recipe Costs

£8.00 1.8 kg trimmed runner beans (mine were free)
£0.85 750g onions
£1.05 675g demerara sugar
£0.05 1 1/2 tbsp turmeric
£0.11 1 1/2 tbsp mustard powder
£0.10 2 tbsp corn flour
£0.64 850ml malt vinegar

£10.80 total

About £4 per kg of chutney (quarter the cost of buying a jar from an artisan maker)

The first step is to chop the beans, both runners and green or french beans will work well in this recipe. It's up to personal taste how finely they are chopped, you could even mince them if you prefer.

They are placed in a pan of water...

...along with the chopped onions...

... brought to the boil and simmered for 15 minutes. Strain them and discard the water.

Put the vegetables in a preserving pan, along with the sugar and most of the vinegar.
Bring to a simmer, stirring until the sugar has dissolved, then simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

The spices will give this preserve a great yellow colour. I used the classic Colman's Mustard in a tin, which we also use for salad dressings.

There's room for experimentation with the spices, a suggestion being to leave out the mustard powder and add in the following ground in a pestle and mortar:

1 tsp mace blades
1 tsp asafoetida
1 tsp paprika
couple of pinches of cayenne pepper

Mix the spices and cornflour (which is used to thicken the chutney) in with the remaining 150 ml of vinegar, they should mix into a vivid yellow paste.
Probably time to get an apron on.

Pour the paste into the vegetable mixture and stir in well.

Keep simmering until the chutney is thick enough. Pot in sterilised jars and store for at least a month before using.
This chutney should keep for a year if stored correctly.

Recipe Timings

30 minutes Chopping
3 hours Cooking
20 minutes Potting