Sister Sledge: Getting down to the Beet(root)

On the 12th December we're holding the very first Sisters Burn event... Sister Sledge: A Christmas Fete. Here's the flyer:



Hannah and I have already made Christmas puddings, and are in the process of creating jars of delightfully festive goods for sale on the day. I'd made some red onion marmalade but to be honest, it wasn't up to much (I'd used a recipe with butter. Don't). So simplicity, I have found, is most certainly the key. The recipe for this beetroot chutney called for basically chucking everything in the pan and leaving it. Having consulted Nigella she seems to agree. So far, so good.

Here's the recipe:

Beetroot Chutney
(makes 3x350ml jars)

500g cooked beetroot (got from Jaimie’s Dad’s garden), chopped into largish rough chunks
2 red onions sliced
1 white onion siced
200g granulated sugar
150ml red wine vinegar
100ml apple balsamic vinegar
50g sultanas
2 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp fresh ginger grated
Salt & pepper

Put all the ingredients into a pan with a lid. Put over a medium heat with the lid on, stirring every 5 or 10 minutes (to prevent it sticking to the bottom). Leave on the heat for 40 minutes, to make sure the onions are sticky and fully cooked through, the acidity is gone from the vinegar and the sugar is totally dissolved. Allow to cool.

Sterilize your jars and transfer the cooled mixture. The chutney should be left for 4 weeks to mature and will go well with cold meat, and I think smoked trout.

And here are the jars:

ABC, easy as 123

We're about to embark on a culinary adventure, me and my very own Georgina aim to eat our way alphabetically around fair London town. Starting with A next Friday night. Inspired by a friend of Georgie's attempts to eat here way through the world map of the capital's restaurants, we're planning to meet twice a month which, if my maths are correct, mean that this project should take about a year.

First stop, Antonio's in Islington. We'll then review each of the alphabetical restaurants and might even decide which one is the best 'alphabetically chosen' restaurant in the capital. Who knows. Or perhaps we could start spelling our names... go to The Luxe, then The Albion, then Umu... you get the idea.