Alexis’s Cranberry Chutney

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat… but before Christmas comes, or Hannukah or Kwanzaa, we have… (drum roll, please) …Thanksgiving!  It’s 10 days out, and time to start preparing so that the day/week of Thanksgiving isn’t completely frantic.  There actually are a few things we can do, even this far ahead (beyond making lists of shopping and to-do’s).

One of my favorite holiday dishes is cranberry chutney.  I love how the spices and sugar counterbalance the tangy tartness of the cranberries and vinegar.  I liked it so much that, for many years, I would skip the jellied cranberry sauce and just serve chutney.  Now I like both, so I make both, but chutney always starts the cooking countdown for Thanksgiving.

This recipe was found in the first issue of Bon Appétit magazine I ever received (as a subscription) back in 1980.  (Many thanks to my godson, Danny, and his clever mom, Alexis, for gifting me so thoughtfully so many years ago.)  Actually, I misread some of the directions/ingredients the first time I tried making it, but the end result was so good that I stuck with my version.  And Alexis liked it so much that she would ask for my chutney every year as a holiday feast contribution until finally she just started making larger batches herself.  (She also came up with the brilliant idea of microwaving a bowl of chutney, then dumping it on a wedge of brie, and voilà!  Served with some water crackers, you had an instant appetizer.)  So here it is, Alexis’s Cranberry Chutney – so called because she loved it even more than me.

Alexis’s Cranberry Chutney

Adapted from Bon Appétit magazine (1980)

Cranberry chutney with extra fruit and spices

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Course Dinner

Cuisine American, British

Servings 12

Ingredients

  

• 2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 1½ cup raisins
• 1 orange, peel and pith removed
• 1 lemon, peel and pith removed
• 1 can pitted dark sweet cherries, drained
• ½ cup distilled white vinegar
• ½ stick cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground cloves
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated
• 1 pound fresh cranberries, washed

Instructions

 

• Combine all ingredients except cranberries in a large, heavy saucepan.
• Bring mixture to boil over medium heat, stirring frequently.
• Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.
• Add cranberries and simmer until they pop, crushing berries against side of pan as they cook, about 5 more minutes.
  
• Cover and refrigerate until cold. Can be stored up to one month in refrigerator.

Notes

This recipe does double-duty as a side dish condiment and as an appetizer.  As a condiment, it is simply served as is.  As an appetizer, heat a portion of chutney in the microwave until steaming, then pour it over a wedge of brie and serve with water crackers.  

It’s also delicious smeared on some toasted wheat bread, piled with roast turkey and a little stuffing – for seasoning.

Keyword Cinnamon, Cranberry, dark cherries, raisins