Cranberry chutney
With chilli and ginger - Sweet, tart and a bit fiery
Published originally on my blog on 21 December 2009
Ever since my boyfriend and I moved to Holland, we've expanded our culinary horizons. I started experimenting even more with fruit I was not familiar with in Greece, incorporating them in numerous main or side dishes and hors d'oeuvres.
Suddenly here comes Christmas, and with it the sight of cranberries all over the greengrocer's stalls and super markets. I had to do something with them. I was mesmerized by their glorious red color and their juicy roundness.
I didn't want to pair them with game meat though, like in some Dutch recipes I discovered, I needed something simpler for my cranberry debut. And what is more straightforward than chutney?
This strikingly red concoction has a pungent aroma. Its sweet and tart flavor along with the fiery heat from the chili can excite even the most demanding of palates. Only in the aftertaste you get a slight hint of the garlic and ginger that give an earthy tone to the chutney. It is perfect as an accompaniment to a piece of Stilton or Fourme d'Ambert cheese on top of crostini* and served as an appetizer.
*Crostini is the Italian word for croutons, but it usually implies toasted slices of bread, most commonly baguettes or the Italian bread, ciabatta.
The vinegary and syrupy taste of the chutney becomes more splendid when paired with a big chunk of Parmesan cheese and cold cuts of cured ham or roast beef on a cheese platter, for a night with friends, not forgetting a bottle of your favorite red or white wine.
Cranberry Chutney
If you wish to make this chutney another time of the year when you cannot find fresh cranberries, you can most certainly use frozen ones. Use them directly from the freezer.
The chutney tastes much better the day after you've cooked it and even better a week after that.
Yield: 2 cups
Ingredients
3 medium-sized shallots, chopped coarsely
1 Tbsp olive oil
320 g fresh cranberries
3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
150 g caster sugar
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 large garlic clove, minced
20 g (1 ½ tsp) fresh ginger, peeled and minced
A pinch of dried chili flakes or chili powder
Preparation
Heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until they become soft but not browned, 3-5 minutes.
Add the remaining ingredients and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally and making sure that nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan, until the cranberries just start to pop, 12-15 minutes. At this point you may want to cover the pan, but not fully, so that the berries don't pop all over your stove but still letting some steam come out of the pan. When most of them have popped, remove pan from the heat.
If you want to serve it the same day, let it cool, place it in a small bowl and serve.
If you want to preserve it, take the hot sterilized jar (read here on how to sterilize glass jars properly), making sure you are not touching the inside of the jar, and fill it with the still hot chutney. Close the lid tightly and put it in a cool, dry place for storage.
You may keep an unopened sterilized jar of chutney in a dark and cool place for up to a year.
Once you open a jar of chutney, you have to immediately refrigerate it. It will keep for 3-4 months as long as you don't contaminate it with dirty spoons or hands.