Daz Switalla Flavour Secrets No.1 The Strand Chef www.no1thestrand.co.nz

Feijoas are everywhere at the moment and they have attracted lots of attention from food producers, sweet makers, even beer has been given the feijoa makeover.

This popular fruit, which can be used in sweet and savoury dishes, originates from Brazil. The strong, complex nature of the fruit often makes it a challenge to match with other fruits, but as feijoas only last for a few days once picked, you have to use them and constant harvesting is advised. So on to what to do with all those feijoas falling off the trees at the moment. Well there are smoothies, cakes, jams; feijoas brushed with balsamic and brown sugar alongside pork chops or added chopped to salads, and of course, with apples in a crumble - often a family favourite. You can find many recipes for cakes and muffins and basically you can use any recipe that uses bananas or pineapple. Ginger and chocolate flavourings also go well. After last week's master class in complex

curries I thought I would make it easier for you this week with a simple and useful feijoa chutney.

Dazz's Feijoa Chutney

Ingredients

3kg peeled and chopped feijoas

6 Granny Smith apples chopped with skins on

2 & 1/2 cups brown sugar or try 6 discs of palm sugar

2 cups cider vinegar

1 cup malt vinegar

1 x 4cm chunk root ginger, grated

1tablespoon mixed spice

1teaspoon ground cardamom

1 cup dried sultanas

2 star anise

Zest of 2 lemons, cut thick zest with a peeler

Method

Place all ingredients except sultanas, apples and feijoa in saucepan with a heavy base and bring to a simmer for 20 minutes. Strain off lemon zest and star anise.

Add in the Granny Smiths, cook for 10 minutes then add the sultanas and last the chopped feijoas; that way the chutney is over half way cooked and the feijoa retains most of its bulk.

Pack into warm sterilised jars after testing the fluidity by leaving a spoon full on a plate in the fridge. Using this method the whole process takes about one and a half hours.

The test plate should wrinkle and leave a path when run through with your finger.

This chutney tastes great with any cheese and I also love it with cold chicken cuts. The sweetness factor changes when using palm sugar but don't be afraid to try it as it's a healthier form of sugar.