Mango, preserved lemon and coriander chutney

A couple of months ago during a winter walk by the Thames in south west London, I visited the farmers market next to Richmond Bridge. One of the stallholders was selling some very interesting chutneys which had North African influences.

My favourite contained a lot of fresh coriander and preserved lemons. Foolishly I did not buy a jar - the logic being that I would have to carry it all day - but since that day, the taste has haunted me and I always knew I would try and replicate it.

Despite trawling the internet I failed to find a recipe for anything similar, so have made my own up. Initial tasting suggests it's a good one; the preserved lemons make it saltier than I would like, but I'm quite sensitive to salt levels and I still like it.

I made the preserved lemons a couple of months ago too, following the recipe in Pam Corbin's preserves book. Very easy to do and the lemons are great to add to stews or chop up into salads.

There were plenty of cheap mangos around in Deptford this morning, so I decided to pair them with the lemons, to add some sweetness and texture.

Today's recipe used up the rest of the preserved lemons, so it will probably be time to do some more in the next couple of weeks. I'll try and remember to share it with you when I do.

Mango, preserved lemon and coriander chutney

half a tsp ground allspice plus 5 whole ones
8 cardamom pods, seeds removed and crushed in a pestle & mortar
2 dried chillies, crushed
1tsp coriander seeds
1 onion, chopped into small pieces
2 large mangos, 3 small ('sweet') mangos
6 preserved lemons
a thumb of root ginger
125ml cider vinegar
100g sugar
large bunch of fresh coriander

Put the spices, chopped onion, mango (flesh removed and chopped), preserved lemon (discard the flesh and chop the skin into small pieces) and vinegar into a large pan and cook for about 20 mins over a low heat until onion is soft. Add the sugar and the coriander and cook for another ten minutes or so until the chutney has thickened.

Put into sterilised jars, label and leave for a few weeks to mature.