Chanterelle & Apricot Ketchup

Recipe by Luke Jefford

I spent 2022 chanterelle season tirelessly designing dessert dishes around these golden beauties. Unfortunately, I never achieved what I envisaged. The ideas have been mentally archived to revisit at a later time. Chanterelles have a natural sweet apricot smell that invokes a lot of create juices!

We’re really fortunate we live close to one of a few remaining growers of apricots in the U.K. We’re also incredibly lucky that our local forests produce A LOT of Golden Chanterelle each season. Marrying the two with their coinciding season and flavour profile makes perfect sense.

This ketchup recipe isn’t what us Brits typically are accustomed to on the palette. It has a touch more acidity, making it a perfect pairing for much more than chips! As soon as we tasted it we knew blue cheese was the one for us. Paired with some homemade crackers, it’s an absolute must this (and every) season!

We’ve also added a zero waste apricot stone liquor or ‘Crème de Noyaux’ recipe at the bottom of the page <3

Ingredients

First Stage

• 850g White Onion (Peeled & Diced)

• 3 Garlic Cloves (Crushed or Sliced)

• 2 Large Pinches Sea Salt

• 4 Tbsp Rape Seed Oil

• 1 Tsp Dried Chilli Flakes

• 3 Crushed Green Cardamom Pods

Second Stage

• 900g Apricots (Stones Removed & Apricots Roughly Diced)

Third Stage

• 450g Honey

• 230g Caster Sugar

• 500g White Wine Vinegar

• 2 Tsp Agar-Agar

Fourth Stage

• 500g Golden Chanterelle

Method

Step 1

Slowly sweat down everything in FIRST STAGE in a heavy based pan on a very low heat, until onions are translucent.

We prefer to use dutch ovens for this whole process as they are less prone to burning the produce.

Step 2

Still remaining at the same tepid heat, add in the diced apricots SECOND STAGE and cook them down until they’re soft.

Step 3

Add in all ingredients from THIRD STAGE (above) and turn up to a medium heat. Reduce this mixture down in the pan by 1/3rd.

Step 4

Return to a low heat and add in the chanterelle from the FOURTH STAGE. Cook on a low heat for 20 minutes.

Step 5

Leave to cool and then blend using a device of your choice. The more high powered the blender, the better!

Step 6

Store in the fridge in an airtight container and most importantly. ENJOY! :)

Bonus Recipe

Crème de Noyaux is made by soaking stones from fruits, such as apricots, in a white spirit such as vodka or white rum and leaving those flavours to infuse over a matter of time. Given that almonds are considered a part of the stone fruit family this isn’t surprising.

The pits of apricots, nectarines, peaches and plums all contain a kernel that tastes astonishingly like an almond. Not a sweet almond, but one with a rounded nutty flavor that ends bitter. And, they can be used in ways other nuts cannot.

Once you’ve used the flesh of your stone fruit, roast the kernels on a high heat until starting to brown and then simply add to vodka or another spirit of your choice. Within time the liquor will produce the most amazing almond/marzipan flavour. This opens up a whole host of potential zero waste recipes!