Raw chutney — lemon or orange
The whole citrus, raw and alive, awakened by ginger and onion: a condiment that electrifies the calmest dish.
My raw chutney keeps all the life of the citrus: we use the whole fruit, peel included, simply deseeded. Ginger and onion awaken it, sweetness rounds it, oil or coconut milk binds it. No cooking — the freshness and enzymes stay intact.
Two seasons, two versions: lemon for the bright tension, ripe orange for a solar sweetness. To set over vegetables, a dhal, a bowl of rice, or beside a plant cheese.
Ingredients
- Lemon version: 2 whole lemons, deseeded (peel included)
- Orange version: 2 ripe, good-quality oranges instead of the lemons
- 1 onion
- 1 piece of fresh ginger
- 1 garlic clove
- Pepper, salt
- Agave syrup or 3-4 pitted dates (the sweet softness)
- Coconut oil and/or a little dense coconut milk (to bind)
- Optional: fresh chopped coriander
Method
- 1
Choose a fine organic citrus — a lemon from Fruitstock or Jurassic Fruit has a peel and pith so sweet you can eat them raw. Cut and deseed it carefully: we keep the whole fruit, peel included.
- 2
Blend the whole citrus with the onion, ginger and garlic — in pulses, to keep some texture.
- 3
Add the sweetness (agave or dates), the salt, the pepper, and bind with coconut oil and/or milk.
- 4
Taste and adjust the sweet-sour balance; add the coriander if you like it.
- 5
Let it rest 1 h in the fridge: the flavours marry and the onion softens.
The tip
The genius of this chutney: we eat the whole citrus. A fine lemon — from Fruitstock or Jurassic Fruit — has a peel and pith so sweet you crunch them as they are, and those are precisely the most precious parts. The zest concentrates essential oils and flavonoids; the white pith is rich in pectin, vitamin C and bioflavonoids. A Colombian client once told me that in her village, lemon peels are given to whoever lacks strength, to revitalise them. I believe it readily — every time I bite, with delight, into the peel of a quality citrus, I feel that concentrated vitality.
Where I find it
Ripe organic citrus with untreated peel (essential, since we eat it): Fruitstock or Jurassic Fruit. Dates: Jurassic Fruit. Coconut milk and oil: organic grocer.
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