Boozy Cranberry Chutney
December 8th, 2008 Posted in Dishes
As you can see, I’m not quite ready to give up on the thanksgiving-related posts quite yet! One reason: some thanksgiving-related crap is available ONLY at this time of year, including one of my favorites, fresh organic cranberries. Sadly, cranberries convey a certain “ew”-ness among the many of us who have only experienced them in the shape of a cylindrical gelatinous mass, replete with the horizonal lines of the can. Sickly sweet industrialized fake jiggly fake red fake jello, mmmm!! But if you reverse-engineer this glop back to its source, and can find a few cups of real, no-spray organic berries, and treat them with some breakaway respect, we discover an intensely flavorful and healthful new addition to our ever-expanding repetoire of great ingredients.
It’s rare for my pals over at the Chow conference on the Well to unanimously agree on much, but a certain boozy cranberry sauce has had them swooning for a long time; it’s become the “official” sauce of Chow.The booze is port, and it’s terrific with cranberries. along with various dried fruit and a good glug of balsamic vinegar.
The sauce, which I’m calling chutney, is easily the best condiment for turkey sandwiches that I’ve had. I’ve also made a baked tofu with it that wowed the house critic and a guest (the dukkha topping–more on this wildly delicious discovery soon–didn’t hurt), scrambled eggs with it, and used it as part of deep-red sauce I made for broiled pork loins. It makes everything it touches taste like magic.
The official recipe asked for dried mission figs, but I substituted crystallized ginger and dried apricots, and used jaggery (Indian raw sugar, very caramelly) instead of white sugar (which is officially called white-ass sugar in our house, and is labeled as such), and tossed in a chopped-up manzano chile (my favorite chile — I’ll write about this chile in detail soon as well) to pack a little heat.
I don’t normally include specific recipes here — the whole idea of this blog is one of idea generation, and to leave the details in your capable hands — but I think that there’s not much that’s intuitive about fresh cranberries, so here we go. Give it a try, you’ll thank me!
BOOZY CRANBERRY CHUTNEY
- 2/3 cup port (use ruby, not tawny)
- 1/4 cup balsamic
- 1/2 cup jaggery
- one cup chopped up dried fruit combo: crystallized ginger, apricots, currants, or any other fruit
- 1 manzano chile, seeded and chopped (habanero would work well too)
- pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 12 ounces fresh cranberries
Combine everything except the cranberries in a saucepan, and bring to a simmer. You’ll need to stir quite a bit to dissolve the jaggery. Reduce heat to low, and continue to cook for another ten minutes. Add cranberries, and cookuntil the berries start to pop, stirring often. Continue to cook for another five minutes or so, or until it’s as smooth or chunky as you’d like it to be. Taste for sweetness/sourness. If it’s too tangy for you, add a little sweetener (more jaggery, maple syrup, honey, agave, anything but white-ass sugar). Let cool a bit, and transfer to a large jar. Keeps for a few weeks (or longer) in the fridge if it’s tightly sealed.
(PS — I’m headed for Chicago tomorrow. If anyone knows of any especially good places to eat/shop there, I’d be hugely grateful if you emailed me. Thanks.)
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11 Responses to “Boozy Cranberry Chutney”
By
Kelly on Dec 8, 2008
Looks like a great recipe—as usual! I’ve got one that I should pass along, since everyone who’s tasted it so far goes nuts for it.
It came out of the old Chile Heads digest about a dozen years ago and has had some of my own doctoring in the interim. Yes, it calls for White-Assed Sugar, but that obviously can be remedied!
Cranberry Chipotle Compote
1 Tbs vegetable oil
3 medium apples
3 medium pears
1/3 cup chopped dried apricots
¼ cup Grand Marnier liqueur
1 lb. fresh cranberries
4 oz. chipotle chile peppers, canned in adobo sauce, chopped fine (more or less—depending on how calloused your fire buds are)
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup sugar
2 tsp orange zest chopped fine
½ cup fresh orange juice
½ tsp nutmeg
¼ cup Grand Marnier liqueur (a second one)
Peel, core and dice pears and apples (medium chop).
Heat oil on medium high until hot. Add pears, apples and dried apricots. Sauté 3-5 min. or until soft.
Add first ¼ cup of Grand Marnier and deglaze pan. Add cranberries, chipotles, cinnamon, sugar, orange zest and orange juice. Stir and simmer for 30-45 minutes until it begins to thicken (it always seems to take longer for me). Add nutmeg and second ¼ cup of Grand Marnier and mix.
Refrigerate until ready to serve. Makes 1+ quart.
(The flavors meld better after a couple days and it will keep for months—so I always make a huge batch.)
By
Karena on Dec 8, 2008
I usually dine solo in Chicago because I’m there for work. Here are some spots I like:
For coffee, check out both Intelligentsia and Metropolis Coffee Company. Intelligentsia is more convenient because they have several locations (to Metropolis’ one location near Loyola University), but IMHO, I think Metropolis is better. It’s akin to the Ritual versus Blue Bottle debate in San Francisco (both are micro-roasters).
Avec doesn’t take rezzies, so it’s my “walk-in” place; I usually sit at the bar. They’re known for their chorizo-stuffed medjool dates in a pequillo sauce. They’re good, but I think people focus on them too much and ignore the creative salads and flatbreads. When I was there in March, I had a flatbread that was topped with sausage and fried lemon slices–oh my.
If you’re in the mood to spend, try Takashi. I loved their clay pot chicken with shimeji mushrooms. I also had a tofu salad with avocado and tomatoes in a yuzu-onion dressing that was divine.
Lastly, if you’re interested in checking out the local food movement, try North Pond. I think of it as Chicago’s Chez Panisse (down to the earthy wood aesthetic). I thought it was good, but a bit pricey.
Let us know how your trip goes!
By
Victor Ortiz on Dec 10, 2008
Wow! I have been looking for something with fresh cranberries (I see all those bags in the store this time of year). Friend of mine, his mother, makes something similar with orange juice. A lot of experimenting here. I like the chile touch.
Safe trip in Chicago. Happy Holidays to all.
By
Scott on Dec 10, 2008
Kelly’s recipe is one we’ve been using for years. I, too, got it from the CH list.
The WELL “chutney” is good, and I applaud your use of the rocoto/manzana. But, learning from the CH recipe, may I suggest using chipotle in adobo?
By
lmc on Dec 10, 2008
sounds wonderful, eric! have a great time in chicago.
By
Claire on Dec 11, 2008
You certainly may, Scott! And many thanks to Kelly for typing that in — it sounds almost too good to be true!
Karena: a million thanks for the Chicago tips. I was in Intelligentsia yesterday when a friendly man asked if the chair next to me was free. We began chatting, and it turned out that he’s the owner of Metropolis! A linguist who teaches many languages, Bahasa Indonesian being the primary one. He’s going to give me a full tasting tour of his coffees/roasting process tomorrow. He was THRILLED with your Blue Bottle/Ritual comparison! He even said that Ritual carries his beans, and vice versa.
By
Claire on Dec 11, 2008
(oops, I’m logged in with Delia’s computer, that was really Eric posting that!)
By
Karena on Dec 15, 2008
Eric, that sounds like so much fun (and what are the odds that you would run into the owner of Metropolis)! How was the tasting tour of the coffees and roasting process?
By
Eric on Dec 15, 2008
Acht — never did make it to Metropolis, alas — Delia’s work schedule had some changes, and just couldn’t make it. Next time, for sure!
By
Carroll on Dec 26, 2008
Yowza! Port with cranberries? That’s simply inspired!! I grew up a stone’s throw away from a cranberry bog in Massachusetts and you had me at “there’s not much that’s intuitive about fresh cranberries”. I’ve got the remains of my own fresh cranberry sauce sitting in the fridge right now just begging for some experimentation. Chile, port, ginger and who knows what else, here I come!
Found you just now from Food Gal, and bookmarked you’ve been
By
Eric on Dec 27, 2008
Hey Carroll, thanks for stopping by! I would probably be swimming in the cranberry bog, mouth open and full of jaggery, if I lived near one!