I do love the chilli pepper. So many different types with so many different flavours and heat intensities. My crop this year hasn’t been great – the heat has kept away the bees that pollenate the flowers. But I did have a good crop from a Tornado Chilli plant so thought I’d turn them into a chutney as I love a chilli chutney with cured meats or a good pork pie.

For one jar, you will need:

• 8-10 red chillis
• 3 red peppers
• Half teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 red onion
• Half teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 100ml balsamic vinegar
• 70g dark brown sugar

Ensure you have a fully sterilised jar – run it under boiling hot water and leave to dry.

Cut the red peppers in half and place skin side up on a grill pan, together with the chillis. Pop this under a grill until the skins are well black. Place everything into a bowl and cover tightly with clingfilm so they finish cooking with their own steam.

Cut the onion into thin strips and place in a saucepan with a little olive oil, the rosemary, cinnamon and a good sprinkling of ground salt and pepper. Very gently fry, stirring regularly, for around 20 minutes.

While that’s cooking, take the peppers and cut off the stalks, remove the seeds and any internal white flesh. Peel off the skins (they should come away easily) and finely dice.

Cut off the stalks from the chillis and cut in half. For stronger heat, leave all the seeds in and finely dice them. For a more balanced heat, scoop out most of the seeds (a few remaining is fine) and finely dice.

Add all the diced chillis and peppers to the saucepan together with the balsamic vinegar and the sugar. Let this gently bubble over a medium heat for up to an hour, regularly stirring until you are left with a thick, sticky mix.

Put this in your jar and put the lid on. It will keep in the fridge for a good couple of weeks.