When I went home for Thanksgiving, my father treated us to a pork tenderloin stuffed with a pear/dried pear filling. Dad was pretty proud of the pork loin; it was delicious despite the inclusion of cilantro which I despise. The timing was perfect. This month’s Can Jam ingredient is dried fruit. The real challenge however was converting the recipe into something can-able. This recipe is my attempt to can the filling for future use (and possibly a Christmas gift or two.) The original pork loin also featured a maple glaze; that recipe will be my next canning project.
Dried Apples and Chiles
Pear/Dried Apple Chutney
3 Cups green Bosc pears, sliced
2 Cups Mutsu apples, sliced
1 Cup chopped fennel
1 1/2 Cups Champion Hill Farms honey
1 Cup apple cider vinegar
1 quart dried apples (Maple Ridge Orchards Golden Delicious)
2 small red onions
4 cloves garlic
5 dried chiles chopped finely
Combine all ingredients in a heavy-bottomed pan.
Simmer over medium heat until all ingredients are well blended. Keep chutney hot while preparing jars and a boiling water bath.
Fill hot jars with chutney.
Remove air bubbles, add lids and rings and process in the boiling water bath 10 minutes.
I traded the fennel for the cilantro the original recipe called for. Apple and fennel usually work well together; hopefully the flavors will bloom with time. Use chutney to stuff cuts of meat or top fish.
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