Plum & Date Chutney

2 large red onions, sliced
4 tablespoons olive oil
12 ounces ripe plums, halved, stoned and thickly sliced
2 ounces fresh dates or dried dates, stoned and finely chopped
1 tablespoon light muscovado sugar, more to taste
1 large red chili, seeded and finely chopped
2 limes, juice of
1 teaspoon tamarind paste

Preheat grill and line the grill pan with foil.
MIx the onions and oil and spread them out in the pan.
Grill for 12-15 minutes or until soft and charred.
Put the plum slices into a large bowl and add the hot onions with all the reamining ingredients.
Leave to marinate for 1 hour, then taste and add salt and pepper, plus a little extra sugar if you like.
Goes great with cold meats or stuffed into a pitta bread with a strong cheese.

Note: If the plums are hard, you can still make the chutney, just cut them into small dice

Fresh Fig Chutney

This is a sweet chutney that goes really well with strong cheese. I think because of the cinnamon in it, it always reminds me a little of Christmas. This year my friends and family will be recieving a small jar of this with their gifts.

1 red onion, finely chopped
4 tbsp soft brown sugar
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
A thumb-sized piece ginger, grated
4 tbsp red wine vinegar
4 figs cut into wedges

Put the onion, sugar, spices, ginger and vinegar in a pan and cook together slowly until the onion is completely softened.
Add the fig wedges and cook for another 5-10 minutes until the figs are just starting to break down.