bonjour from au petit bonheur: Chutney Paula's

We have had an abundance of figs this year, well i say we, our friends have, it's been a good year.

I have a freezer full of fig compote for early morning breakfasts, fresh figs frozen halves, and spiced fig chutney. I have also tried unsuccessfully to oven dry some.

For the fig compote (another french cookery book, titled Provence) you simply leave the chopped figs, roughly 1kg of figs with 120ml of water to macerate with some sugar, they suggest 750g of sugar ( i always use less than suggested, a third as the figs are naturally sweet) thin slices of 1 lemon and 1 orange, leave for twenty four hours. Cook the next day slowly for an hour and freeze. Mike and Judy not only gave us a lot of figs but a very easy idea for using them later on. Clean and half the figs put them on a tray cut side up in the freezer for a few hours, then when frozen bag them in groups of eight halves and put back in the freezer. These are then great to throw in tagines, casseroles and stews, good with chicken, duck or any fowl?

Then there was my spiced fig chutney, the book was given to me by dad one Christmas, incidentally he just happens to be staying with us this week. The chutney is lovely and because there is some pumpkin in it also you can use the rest for pumpkin soup, perfect autumnal fare.

SPICED FIG CHUTNEY, SUD DE FRANCE the language and cooking of the Languedoc, Caroline Conran

or chutney a la figue, good with cold or cooked meat, again game or anything feathered!

2 tbsp olive oil, 1 onion chopped, half tsp cayenne pepper, half tsp ground turmeric, 1 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, half tsp ground cumin, 500g of figs, 350g pumpkin flesh cut into small cubes, 250g brown sugar, 250ml white wine vinegar, 1 red chili whole, salt.

heat the olive oil gently in a stainless steel pan and soften the onions for ten minutes, but don't let them brown. Add the spices and mix in, cook for two or three minutes then add the fig and pumpkin cubes, stir thoroughly with spices and onions.

Add brown sugar, vinegar and your whole chili. Season and allow to heat gently for an hour. the liquid should evaporate. When you have a nice thick mix, transfer to sterilised jars and keep for a month in a cool place before opening.

To sterilise a jar wash thoroughly in soapy water and then transfer to oven for 30 minutes at 160C, let it cool in the oven and then it's ready for use.

I was worried about dad and our young and rather over zealous youngsters, but they seemed to get along just fine.