We traveled for Thanksgiving this year, first time in our 7 years together. We've always either had kids or TJ's had to work – or both. But this year we had no kids, TJ had the day off, and my sister-in-law Carolyn invited us to join their feast in New Jersey. I cooked up my contributions – Creamed Onions, Buttermilk Pie, and two cranberry treatments; we dashed down Thursday morning and dashed back on Friday. It was a joy to finally spend a holiday with TJ's sisters and their families and his mom. I had several recipe requests for the Cranberry Chutney I brought along.
This is ridiculously easy to make, and with its zip and zing it's a nice change from the standard cranberry sauces.
• • • • • • • •
1 heaping Tbsp. finely grated fresh ginger
2 large cloves garlic, finely minced
2 tsp. coarse kosher salt *
1 c sugar
¾ c cider vinegar
¼ c golden raisins
¼ tsp. ground cayenne or ground red chile
¼ tsp. ground turmeric
1 12 oz. bag cranberries, washed, and any crummy-looking ones discarded
* If using standard table salt, reduce by half.
In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients except for the cranberries. Bring carefully to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer until sugar is dissolved and raisins are soft.
Add cranberries and return to a gentle boil. Cover and cook until all the berries have burst and the sauce is slightly thickened. Check and adjust seasoning with salt and cayenne (I use up to a full teaspoon of cayenne for a hotter chutney). Remove from heat and let cool, then refrigerate until ready to serve.
This is an unusual, exotic twist on traditional cranberry sauce. I make mine with the grated zest, fruit and juice of an orange and spiced with ginger, cinnamon, cardomom and clove. But I will definitely try yours next time. Yum!
Posted by: Jamie | 26 December 2008 at 12:06 PM
Sounds good. We could of had this on inauguration day! Take care from Mad Mike!!
Posted by: Mad Mike | 28 January 2009 at 02:24 PM
nice, if I ever get a bag of fresh cranberries over here, I'll give it a try! Maybe this works with another kind of berries?
Posted by: Julia | 20 March 2009 at 10:17 AM
what an intense wonderful color!
Posted by: Ulla | 20 March 2009 at 02:43 PM