My Most Favorite Cranberry Chutney

For those of you not family with the holidays in the US, we have 2 major holidays towards the end of the year. First is Thanksgiving, which is usually on the final weekend in November. The traditional meal during this holiday is the roast turkey, although deep-field turkey is gaining in popularity lately.

The second major holiday is, of course, Christmas and New Year. Roast turkey can also be found served during such holidays.

One popular accompaniment to turkey is the cranberry sauce. My first encounter with this was when a jelly-like substance was dumped out of a can and into a bowl. It almost laughed out loud because it stood up proud in the bowl, holding the shape of the can that it had just been liberated from, even preserving the ridges from the can on its side!

The taste was cloyingly sweet, and not to my liking. I thought that there must be something better.

Dial forward many years, and since then, I've taken over the task of one of the accompaniment for the roast turkey that we serve during the holidays. I've settled on a very nice cranberry chutney that goes surprisingly well with the turkey, and to me, is my favorite. I found the recipe somewhere online, but since I couldn't leave things well-enough alone, I've tinkered with the recipe over the years and came up with what I consider a darn good cranberry chutney. I like it better than the simple cranberry sauce, because the chutney had vinegar and other spices that cuts through any heavy or greasy food and wakes up your taste buds.

So here is my version of the cranberry chutney:

• 5 shallots, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 (12 oz) bag of fresh or frozen cranberries
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 sticks cinnamon
• 4 star anise
• 4 strips of lemon or orange rind

Cook the shallot in the oil in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Stir occasionally. You want the shallots to sweat and soften. I would add the cinnamon sticks and star anise while you're doing this, because it will bloom the spices.

Once the shallots has often, add all the remaining ingredients. Simmer and stir occasionally until all the berries pop. This might take 10 to 15 minutes.

Once then, let it cool. The best part about this is that you can make this 1 week in advance. Store it in a glass container, cover tightly, and keep in the refrigerator. The flavor will actually improve as it sits. When serving, bring it out of the refrigerator for at least an hour. It is more flavorful when served at room temperature. Be sure to fish out the cinnamon sticks, star anise, and lemon rind strips. In my case, I usually leave those in the serving bowl and tell people to look out for those whole spices.

After you make this once, adjust the amount of salt, vinegar, and sugar to your taste. Depending on how tart the berries are, I often add more vinegar than called for, but 1 or 2 tablespoons. I've also been known to add a dash or two of Tabasco. This recipe is flexible enough for you to change it to your liking.

Zz.