Whenever we go to Pembrokeshire, we try to travel on a Wednesday so that we can stop at the market in the castle car park at Laugharne. I’ve written before about the bloke there who makes the most delicious jams and pickles, and his stall is always worth a visit.
Laugharne itself is a lovely place, sitting on the Taf estuary in neighbouring Carmarthenshire. Its castle began life as a medieval fortress before being turned into a Tudor mansion, although it’s now rather the worse for wear. It’s also the place most closely associated with Dylan Thomas, who lived at the Boathouse overlooking the estuary and worked in a little writing shed nearby - known in our household as Bob Dylan’s boat shed. There are worse places to sit and find inspiration.
I’m not claiming that my own inspiration was quite on the same literary plane, but one of the jam man’s creations is a chilli and whisky marmalade, which I find heavenly. I decided to have a go at recreating it, although I wasn’t about to start making marmalade from oranges. Life is too short, and Lidl has already done the hard work.
I bought a jar of its marmalade and boiled it up with a little water to loosen it. I then thinly sliced some chillies, put them in the Mikey for 30 seconds to blanch, and added them to the marmalade with a good slug of whisky. Nothing terribly scientific, you understand.
There is one small complication. The bits of chilli tend to float, so you have to stir them back in as the marmalade cools and starts to set. Otherwise you end up with a particularly alarming layer at the top of the jar.
The result is rather hot - hotter than the bloke’s - but heavenly. The orange, chilli and whisky really do go together. I’m quite pleased with myself, although I shall still be visiting his stall next time we’re in Laugharne. There are plenty more jars to investigate.
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