Apple raisin chutney

Whatever meal you are cooking at Easter, a nice jar of chutney will never go amiss with any of the roast leftovers or a cheese platter.
Add a bit of booze for an extra festive touch. I used a small bottle of grappa in this recipe. I don't remember how it happened to be in our house. Most likely a small gift. If you don't have grappa, swap it for brandy, or skip altogether.
I like a touch of alcohol in marmalades (whisky flavoured Seville orange marmalade anyone?!) and chutneys; after cooking the alcohol evaporates, giving a stronger more intense flavour to the finished product.

Apple raisin chutney
Ingredients:
about 1kg of apples, preferably a tart variety
2 medium red onions, finely chopped
200g raisins
1tsp sea salt
juice of 1/2 lemon
1tbsp mustard seeds
1tsp ground ginger
1tsp ground cloves
500g brown sugar
250ml malt vinegar
40ml grappa (optional)

Peel and core the apples and cut into chunks. Put the apples, finely chopped red onions, raisins, lemon juice, salt, mustard seeds, ground ginger and cloves. brown sugar and malt vinegar in a medium sized pan. Bring to the boil, simmer on low for an hour. Add the grappa in the last 15 minutes of cooking.
Cook simmering until thick. Pour into sterilised jam/chutney jars and cover with lids.
Ideally store for about a month for flavours to develop, but if you can't wait, even a week is fine. I'm actually quite happy to eat it in cheese sandwiches the next day after cooking.
It will keep in the fridge for 3+ months, maybe longer, but I cannot vouch for that, as I cook small batches, and they usually get eaten fast enough.

In this recipe I used a bottle of Sarson's malt vinegar, which you might find in the latest Degustabox delivery.