Many folks will make cranberry sauce this weekend to serve with their Thanksgiving roast turkey. It’s a pleasing, seasonal thing to do, but if you want to switch things up a bit, make cranberry chutney instead. A condiment you can still serve with turkey, but also a wide range other things.
You make that chutney pretty much the same way you make cranberry sauce, by simmering fresh or frozen cranberries with sugar and other ingredients until a thickened mixture forms.
What makes it chutney are the types of other ingredients added. In my recipe they include a good amount of chopped fresh ginger and an aromatic mix of ground spices, including coriander, cardamom, cinnamon, clove and cayenne pepper. Fruit juice, bits of apple and golden raisins were also added to the chutney.
The end result is aromatic, ruby-red, tangy chutney that, as noted, could be served with turkey and other roasts, such as chicken or pork, baked ham, sausages and samosas. It can also be served at breakfast with scones or at lunch, spread on a leftover turkey sandwich. And, as shown in today’s photograph, you could also serve the chutney as an appetizer, with Brie or other soft cheese, pate, toasted walnuts and crackers.
You can make the cranberry chutney two days before serving it, keeping it in a tight-sealed jar in the refrigerator until needed. As the chutney sits those two days, its flavour will further develop. Any chutney you have leftover could be frozen in freezer tubs, to thaw and enjoy at another time.
Note: The flavourful pate/terrine in today’s photograph was purchased at a charcuterie shop in Oak Bay called The Whole Beast (thewholebeast.ca). The crisp and inviting crackers shown were made by Victoria’s Jenny Marie’s Cracker Company. To find locations selling those crackers, go to jennymariescrackers.com.
Cranberry Chutney with Apples, Raisins and Ginger
This easy-to-make cranberry chutney is rich with a mix of spices, fresh ginger, fruit juice, raisins and apples.
Preparation time: five minutes
Cooking time: 35 minutes
Makes: about two and half cups
1 (300- or 340-gram) bag fresh or frozen cranberries
1 cup + 2 Tbsp unsweetened apple juice
2/3 cup packed golden brown sugar, plus more, if needed
1 small green or red apple, cored and cut into tiny cubes
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh ginger
1 Tbsp lime juice mixed 1 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground clove
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
Place cranberries, apple juice, 2/3 cup sugar, apples, raisins, ginger, lime juice/cornstarch mixture, salt, cardamom, coriander, cinnamon, clove and cayenne pepper in a medium-sized pot (my pot was eight inches wide). Set the pot over medium, medium-high and bring cranberry mixture to a gentle simmer (small bubbles should just break on the surface). Lower heat as needed to maintain that gentle simmer. Gently simmer chutney, uncovered, 30 minutes, or until the cranberries soften and begin to slightly fall apart. Taste chutney and mix in a bit more brown sugar if you find it too tart.
Remove chutney from the heat and cool to room temperature. Transfer chutney to a tight sealing jar and refrigerated until needed. Chutney will keep at least a week in the refrigerator.
Eric Akis is the author of eight cookbooks. His columns appear in the Life section Wednesday and Sunday.
