How to Make Vegan Caramelized Red Onion Chutney With Wholegrain Mustard

I enjoy pickles and chutneys year round but I find them particularly useful in the autumn and winter. When the weather turns nasty is when my thoughts turn to making some special pickles and chutneys to use at Christmas time. Homemade chutneys are a lot cheaper and, in my opinion, a whole lot tastier than the shop bought variety. You know exactly what goes into them too, which is great if you are a vegetarian like me. All too often I have found hidden meat products, such as pork gelatin, in things like preserves.

Red onions tend to be sweeter than the white variety and so lend themselves to pickles really well. They are high in flavonoids (vitamine P) a known anti oxidant, flavonoids have also been put forward as having possible anti inflammatory properties too. So not only does this chutney taste good but it might just do you good too.

Cold, dark winter nights make me crave warming spicy foods and this lovely caramalised red onion chutney recipe really hits the spot. It's got just the right amount of spicy heat, tasty, without being so hot that it overpowers the flavour of everything else. In my mind there's nothing worse than a chutney that smothers instead of complimenting food.

This great tasting caramelised red onion chutney goes really well with cheese, cold meats, pies,sausages - just about anything can be perked up with it. I have made large batches of this and given it as gifts at Christmas, it's cheap and quick and easy to make and in my experience people really do appreciate something tasty and homemade. Cut out rounds of pretty fabric and use them to dress the jars with the chutney in and make a nice homemade lable. Don't forget to sterilise the jars before you put the chutney in and to place a circle of wax paper over the chutney before you put the fabric and the lid on.

Sterilising jars can sound scary but all it really means is heating them up enough that any germs are destroyed. This can be done by putting the jars through the dishwasher cycle, or if you don't have a dishwasher then put them into a hot oven for twenty minutes.This chutney will keep, unopened, for around six months. Once it is opened it should be kept in the fridge, if there's any left that is. I know my own family love this chutney so much they have been known to eat it on its own!

You can also make this chutney with white Spanish onions, in which case it won't be quite so sweet tasting, but just as good.

Use this chutney to spice up some ordinary meals,if you have any little bits of leftover cheese, grate them and add a generous spoonful of this chutney, make sandwiches and then toast them under the grill until the cheese has melted. For a great supper dish make toad in the hole - cook sausages (meat or vegetarian) in a baking dish in the oven in a little oil until almost cooked, add a batter and cook until golden and well risen. Make up some gravy and then add three or four large spoon fulls of the caramelised onion chutney to make onion gravy, pour over the toad in the hole and serve hot.

You will need a fairly large pan if you want to make the quantity shown here. They can be expensive but in my opinion a good large pan is a kitchen essential. Especially if, like me, you have a large family to provide for. Don't be tempted to make preserves in a non non stick pan. I have and deeply regretted it, I don't think it ever came fully clean!