FOOD & DRINK / Reader Recipe: Accompaniments on the chilli side

THE following two recipes in the cooking with peppers category come from Santa Fe, New Mexico, via Bolton. Michael Shipley found them in the Santa Fe Cookbook by Michael Fennelly. They are for apple chutney and spiced mash potatoes, two side dishes he recommends served with lamb chops that have been left in a spicy marinade for three hours, then grilled.

Mr Shipley will receive a bottle of white wine from a little known French grape-type: auxerrois. It has perfectly balanced acidity and sweetness and is made in Suffolk at Wyken Vineyards in Stanton, near Bury St Edmunds.

Apple mint chutney

Serves 6 as a condiment

Ingredients:10 apples, cored, peeled and chopped

2 jalapeno chillies, seeded and chopped (or 1 hotter variety, such as Scotch bonnet or birds eye green chilli)

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 heaped palmful of currants

2fl oz (60ml) maple syrup

2fl oz (60ml) brown sugar

1tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1tbs chopped fresh mint leaves

2 1/2 fl oz (70ml) cider vinegar

salt and pepper

Preparation: Combine all the ingredients in a large pan, bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer until apples are tender, approximately 30 minutes.

Allow to cool to room temperature, then decant to a clean jar, seal and store in a cool cupboard or the refrigerator.

Green chilli potatoes

Serves 6 as a side dish

Ingredients: 5 potatoes

3 carrots

3fl oz (90ml) sour cream

4tbs unsalted butter, softened

5 dashes Tabasco sauce

1 spring onion, finely chopped

1 hot (or 2 mild) green chillies, seeded and chopped

pinch of cayenne pepper

salt and black pepper

Preparation: Boil potatoes and carrots. Skin and trim and mash (not in a food processor), adding the other ingredients and adjusting seasoning to taste.

NEXT WEEK, the last of our peppers. Recipes are welcome for the following category: pies, sweet or savoury. Send them, stating the source if not original, to: Emily Green, Recipe, Weekend Features, The Independent, 40 City Road, London EC1Y 2DB.