Name: Christmas Spiced Cranberry and Plum Chutney
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 300g/three cups fresh cranberries; 3-4 fresh plums, stones removed, chopped; 175g/one cup demerera sugar; Grated zest of 2 clementines; 2 cinnamon sticks; 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1 teaspoon ground ginger or half a teaspoon freshly grated ginger; 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar; 2-3 tbsp brandy, cherry brandy or port

It’s beginning to smell a lot like Christmas…and it snowed today! A snowy day calls for staying home, keeping warm and making a big pan of Christmas Spiced Cranberry and Plum Chutney. It is so easy to make (less than twenty minutes and it’s done) and it goes with a whole host of Christmas goodies – your Christmas day roast, cold cuts, a baked Camembert or brie…which is what we’re having tonight with a warm baguette and a glass of red wine. Or, if you are getting ahead and are gift making, you can jar it up, add a pretty label and you’ll have another present ticked off your list. Keep or Give? Luckily this recipe makes two jars!

Christmas Spiced Cranberry and Plum Chutney

Prep 5 mins

Cook 15 mins

Total 20 mins

Author Ren Behan

Ingredients

300g/three cups fresh cranberries
3-4 fresh plums, stones removed, chopped
175g/one cup demerera sugar
Grated zest of 2 clementines
2 cinnamon sticks
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger or half a teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2-3 tbsp brandy, cherry brandy or port

Instructions

Take a large, wide sauce pan and add your cranberries, plums, demerera sugar, spices, red wine vinegar and brandy or port.
Stir together well, bring to a boil, turn down the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Stir every now and again and make sure it doesn't stick or burn.
In the meantime, sterilize your jars by putting them through a dishwasher cycle or by washing them in warm soapy water, rinsing well and placing them in an oven at gas mark 4, 350°F, 180°C, for 5 minutes.
Leave to cool slightly and then carefully take out the two whole cinnamon sticks and spoon your chutney into jars.
Cover with waxed discs, seal with the lids and label.

Notes

This makes 2 x jam jars of chutney. Once opened store the chutney in the fridge. The chutney will keep for up to six months.

Tonight, I’m taking part in week 3 of the Booths Cheers Challenge. For the past few weeks, at 7pm, we’ve all been cracking open our bottles and sharing our best tips as well as our wine and beer matches. Today, a bottle of Croft Finest Reserve Port arrived – a little of which went into my chutney, the rest is stashed for Christmas tipples. We also received a very special bottle of Chateau Lagarde Bellevue Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2009. I’ll be trying this with my baked Camembert and Christmas Spiced Cranberry and Plum Chutney. Follow the #BoothsCheers and join me!

Although the cranberries are not in season in the UK, they are in season in America! The plums and clementines were from my fruit bowl, so I’m linking this post up to the super-seasonal Karen who is hosting December’s Simple and in Season at Lavender and Lovage. I promise you November’s round up very soon!

I’m also linking up to December’s festive One Ingredient Challenge hosted by Nazima at Franglais Kitchen which is ginger – I used ginger spice – hope that counts. You could use half a teaspoon of grated fresh ginger in place of the ground!