Garlic Ginger Cranberry Chutney

In the chronology of my Thanksgivings, there is a period of time that I will describe as BC or "before chutney". Try as I might to remember, cranberry sauce made absolutely no impression on me BC. I was way too focused on mashed potatoes and gravy or my aunt's parmesan and artichoke stuffing. Cranberry sauce as I knew it was just a sweet topping and not much else. I also went through a period of life where I was not cranberries' biggest fan. Too tart, a little too bitter. Maybe it's when I found out that cranberries are grown in bogs (my sister affectionately refers to them as "bog berries") that they suddenly began to fascinate me.

 Then one year, while I was still in high school, my mom made this particular recipe: Garlic ginger cranberry chutney. I can remember the specific Thanksgiving because I thought a cloud of mustard gas had been released in the family kitchen. Anyone who is familiar with Indian food knows that chutneys are often (not always) fruit-based, spicy as well as spiced, and a perfect complement to protein. What I did not know was that making this particular cranberry chutney called for my mom to simmer on the stove, for what seemed like an eternity, vinegar, raw garlic and ginger, and cayenne pepper. Hence my allusions to mustard gas. The entire house seemed to be filled with an eye-watering vapor.

But here's the thing: this sauce is absolutely amazing. The flavor of the fresh cranberries is perfectly complemented by the punch of ginger, savory garlic, and a bit of spice from the cayenne pepper. Sweet, savory, and complex.

I moved from Arizona 4 years ago, and since then my Thanksgivings have been spent with my East Coast family. I made the chutney on my own, for the first time, with some slightly frantic urging on my mom's part not to make it on actual Thanksgiving Day and scare off the family. I'm making it this year, as has become my contribution to the holiday tradition, and out of respect for A's olfactory senses I'll probably wait till he's away conducting rehearsal to fumigate the kitchen.

In all seriousness, the cooking process is a little intense but just crack a window or turn on the fan over the stove if you have one. You'll be fine. The final product is more than worth it. I often make a double batch because aside from the magic that it works on a slice of turkey, it goes amazingly well with a loaf of french bread and a melty wedge of brie.

*Fresh cranberry sauce is one of the easiest things to make, and so I've put instructions for fresh cranberry sauce in this recipe. If you use canned cranberry sauce, make sure that one pound of it goes into the recipe.


Garlic Ginger Cranberry Chutney

One 12 oz bag of fresh, whole cranberries (look over your bog berries to make sure none of them still have a little stem attached).

1 cup of water

1 cup of granulated (or raw if you prefer) sugar

1 inch long piece of fresh ginger

3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp salt

fresh ground black pepper

In a medium sauce pan, bring the water and sugar to a boil. Add in the cranberries and bring the liquid back to a boil. Reduce the heat and boil gently for 10 minutes (listening to the insistent little pops of bursting berries), stirring every once in a while. At the end of the 10 minutes, remove from the heat and set aside.

Peel your ginger and cut it into paper thin slices, or as thin as you can get them. Stack the slices together and then cut the slices into thin slivers. Combine the ginger, finely chopped garlic, vinegar, sugar, and cayenne in a small pot. Bring this to a boil and then simmer on a low to medium-low flame for about 15 minutes to reduce the amount of liquid. Ideally, you want to end up with about 4 tbs of liquid.

Once your liquid has reduced, add in your cranberry sauce. Give a few twists of the pepper grinder and stir in the salt. Bring back to a simmer and cook gently for 10 more minutes.