Microwave miracle

My contribution to the Thanksgiving meal every year is pretty slender. Other than agitating once in a while for a dry-brined turkey, I leave the main dishes to everyone else, and I take care of a condiment—and a ridiculously easy-to-make condiment at that.

Your Uncle Bob introduced me to Dried Cherry Chutney. I was at a shindig at his house many years ago when he rolled out this unassuming little container of the chutney and told me try it. Little did I know I was about to taste the ultimate condiment for the first time. It's got the usual chutney flavor components—sweet, sour, spicy—but there's just something about this one that sets it apart. Maybe because it's not too busy, like many other chutneys with a long ingredient list that try to pack in too many different flavors. This one has just what it needs to make it great and no more.

There's a lot of fresh ginger in this chutney so I'm especially pleased to make it this year using this big honking piece of ginger I picked up recently at the City Market from Planet Earth Diversified. Last year, I bought a smaller piece, which I trimmed, peeled, and kept in a plastic bag in the freezer, where it lasted a whole year. When I need some, I just grate it on my Microplane while the ginger is still frozen. It's a little frosty on the digits, but it works great.

Dried Cherry Chutney

Adapted from The New Basics Cookbook (1989) by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins

Time: 27 minutes (12 minutes prep, 15 minutes cooking)

This is another one of those recipes where it's helpful to read the preceding notes in the chapter in which it appears, which in this case is aptly named "microwave miracles." The pertinent information here is that the recipe was tested in a "carousel microwave of 650 to 700 watts." Nowadays, most microwaves have more power than that, in which case you'd have to cook the chutney for less time or adjust the power setting. Our microwave dates back to August 1989 (which was a particularly awesome month) and happens to be 700 watts, so I can follow the cooking times in the recipe. On the other hand, it doesn't have a carousel, so I have to "rotate the dish during the cooking time," as suggested in the notes. 

265 grams (2 cups) pitted dried cherries (Trader Joe's Dried Pitted Tart Montmorency Cherries are good) 

250 grams (1¼ cups) granulated sugar

180 grams (¾ cup) white vinegar

90 grams (6 tablespoons) 100% apple juice 

45 grams (3 tablespoons) freshly squeezed lemon juice

35 grams (¼ cup) finely chopped celery (~1 large or 2 small stalks)
25 grams (¼ cup) fresh ginger, minced or grated on a Microplane 

½ teaspoon dried crushed red pepper flakes

 

    1. Combine all the ingredients in a microwave-safe 2-quart bowl (your kitchen scale comes in handy here). Stir well.

  2. Cook, uncovered, at full power for 6 minutes in a 700-watt microwave. If your microwave is more than 700 watts, adjust the cooking time or power setting. If your microwave doesn't have a carousel, rotate the container 90 degrees after 3 minutes. Stir the mixture, making sure the sugar has dissolved, and return the bowl to the microwave. Cook for another 8 minutes, rotating the container after 4 minutes and/or adjusting the cooking time or power setting as needed. 

3. Carefully remove the bowl from the microwave. It will look like there's way too much liquid left at this point (see the photo above). But sugar is hygroscopic so the chutney will tighten up considerably as the sugar sucks up the excess moisture as the chutney cools. Don't make the same mistake I did the first time I made this recipe and cook it down more or you'll have cherry brittle instead of chutney. When the chutney is cool, transfer it to an airtight container and store it in the fridge, where it will keep for at least a week. If you have any left over from Thanksgiving, it makes a zesty sandwich spread. Makes about 2 cups.