Spicy Cranberry Apple Chutney

It is Monday of one of my favorite weeks of the entire year – Thanksgiving is only days away! Growing up in Massachusetts, we’re gently brainwashed into believing that Thanksgiving is the greatest holiday around and I’m still drinking that Kool Aid. Who can argue with a holiday that focuses on gratitude, family, and food? I’m totally down with it.

Another Massachusetts life lesson? Cranberries are delicious. I whipped up this chutney recently and it’s the perfect mix of fall fruit with a little bit of heat to warm you up as the temperatures dip.

The ingredients:
- ½ white onion
- ½ c champagne vinegar (regular white wine vinegar is OK too)
- 1 teaspoon whole mustard seeds
- ½ c granulated sugar
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 red chile peppers, soaked and minced, seeds removed
- 1 bag of cranberries
- 3 apples, peeled, cored, and diced

These are the peppers I used:

You can certainly substitute crushed red pepper flakes if you can’t find something similar to these and you can increase/reduce the amount used depending on your heat preference.

Start off softening the onion in oil over medium heat. Then, add in the garlic and peppers. About 2 minutes later, add in the mustard, then the sugar and vinegar.

Stir it well until all of the sugar is dissolved and then add in the cranberries and apples. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes, until it thickens up and has this stunning hot pink color.

I served this on roasted pork tenderloin that I seasoned with salt, pepper, and ground coriander and a Brussels sprouts slaw-style salad.

I loved this. It’s sweet, tangy, and spicy all in one, plus the color is absolutely gorgeous. It would be a great topper to leftover Thanksgiving turkey, chicken, or pork like I did. I also snacked on the chutney leftovers chilled on top of goat cheese and crackers. It was certainly the fanciest lunch I’ve brought to work thus far!