This is the latest in an ongoing guest series by Chef Lori Leinbach, founder and director of Southborough’s Culinary Underground. This week Chef Lori offers up an easy-to-make chutney for the holidays .
(Photo via Flickr)
Does anyone else get excited when they see the fresh bags of cranberries appear in the produce section? I start lobbing bags of them in freezer for fear of running out before they disappear (sometime around the second week of January). They freeze beautifully, thaw quickly, and are great in both sweet and savory dishes. Plus, they’re local!
One thing I don’t use them for, however, is chutney. There are many recipes for cranberry chutney that use the fresh berries, but they all seem to wind up as a variation of whole cranberry sauce. A fruit chutney should have firm pieces that hold their shape.
With the holiday approaching, we like to make up jars of fruit chutneys to give away (and for ourselves). Cranberry with apples is a favorite, but peeling and cutting up a million apples is a drag. Culinary Underground’s chutney recipe calls for dried apples and dried cranberries to save you time; it’s a snap to make. (The bourbon is optional, but we encourage you to try it. Somehow, my hand always manages to slip a little when pouring – I use way more than two tablespoons.)
Dried Apple-Cranberry Chutney
(1 Cup)
½ Cup dried apples, chopped
½ Cup dried cranberries
½ Cup golden or Thompson raisins
½ Cup red onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
½ Cup apple cider
½ Cup water
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 Tablespoons cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 Tablespoon candied ginger, finely chopped
¼ teaspoon salt
Grated zest of 1/2 orange
2 Tablespoons bourbon (optional)
Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook for 1 minute, stirring, then reduce the heat and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, for about 30-35 minutes until the mixture has thickened to a syrupy consistency.
Remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly. Stir in the optional bourbon and cool completely.
Store chutney in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
