Sweet and Spicy Plum Chutney

My mother is a very talented cook, so it's hardly fair to say that I ever really "discovered" food.  I grew up eating flavorful, healthy meals cooked from quality ingredients, and that's a lot of the reason that I enjoy food and cooking as much as I do today.  Still, I think everyone - myself included - has moments as they grow up where food takes them by surprise.

One of my first surprising moments with food was on a family vacation to Hawaii.  We were going kayaking down a river, and stopped at a roadside stand to get some sandwiches to bring along for lunch.  Until that point, I had never been all that adventurous with sandwiches - that changed with this food stand.  I don't even remember everything that was on the sandwich - I think it was tuna.  What took me by surprise were the side-elements - bean sprouts and a mango chutney.  I'm not sure I had ever had a sprout or a mango before, so I wasn't too sure what I was getting into.  My worries were very quickly allayed.  Somewhere on the shore of a small Hawaiian river, it occurred to me that sandwiches - and their condiments - can be awesome.

More than a decade later, my family still talks about that mango chutney.  I'm tempted to try to recreate it, but I worry that doing so could never do justice to that first taste.  I tried something related, though - a plum chutney.  It's spicy and tangy and sweet and earthy all at once, and has made a great condiment for everything that I've put it on so far.  Best of all, I still have a bunch of it left, so I can look forward to grilling up something else and coating it with spicy plum goodness.

For a somewhat exotic recipe, the ingredients are pretty close to home - most are pantry staples.  Here's what I used: half a dozen ripe plums, one red onion, some brown sugar, some white sugar, apple cider vinegar, cayenne pepper, ginger root, garlic, whole mustard seeds, salt, and pepper.  Many chutney recipes also feature currants or golden raisins - I opted against for this attempt, but feel free to toss them in if that takes your fancy.

First, chop up all the fresh stuff: the garlic, the red onion, and the plums.  A coarse chop is all you need - everything will reduce in size pretty considerably, so don't worry about big chunks.

If you prefer your ginger minced, peel and chop it at this point, too.  I grated it right into the pot later on with a microplane, and that worked just fine for me.

The cooking process starts by combining the vinegar, brown sugar, and white sugar in a small saucepan.  Whisk together and bring to a quick boil to make sure all of the sugar is dissolved.

Next, keep the heat on, and add everything else to the pot - the chopped plums, garlic, and red onions, the mustard seeds, the cayenne, some grated ginger, and a generous hit of salt and pepper.  It will look like egregiously too much for the little bit of liquid at the bottom, but don't fear - the plums will release plenty of liquid quite quickly as everything comes back to a boil.  As soon as the pan is boiling again, reduce the heat to a steady simmer.

Simmer 30-45 minutes until everything is reduced by 1/3 to 1/2 and has a sticky, syrupy texture.

And that's it!  Serve it up as you see fit - this chutney is surprisingly versatile.  It makes a great condiment for sandwiches, a fantastic glaze for grilled meats, and even a top-notch hot dog topping.  Heck, I'd even be tempted to use it like cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving.  Give it a try, and let me know where it works.

Recipe: Sweet and Spicy Plum Chutney

Prep Time: 10 Minutes | Cook Time: 45 Minutes | Difficulty: Easy | Servings: 3-4 Cups

Ingredients

• 6 Ripe Plums
• 1 medium Red Onion
• 3/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1/2 cup (packed) Brown Sugar
• 1/3 cup White Sugar
• 4 cloves Garlic
• 2 tsp whole Mustard Seeds
• 2 tsp Grated Ginger
• 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Coarsely chop red onion, plums, and garlic.
2. In a small saucepan, combine cider vinegar, brown sugar, and white sugar.  Whisk together and bring to a boil.
3. Add all other ingredients to saucepan and return to a rapid boil.
4. Reduce heat to a steady simmer, stirring often, 30-45 minutes until mixture has reduced by 1/3 and texture is syrupy.
5. Store up to 3 weeks refrigerated or preserve by canning.

Salsa

I have a weakness for salsa.  I think it may run in my family.  I think it may run in humanity.  And, really, I'm okay with that.  I like all sorts of salsa, but there's always something about the stuff that you get before a meal at a real Mexican restaurant.  It's not specially flavored, it's not "extra chunky," it's just delicious.  This recipe is a lot like that.  Salsa from a jar may have more "stuff" in it, but this is straightforward, clean, and altogether addictive.

The nice thing about salsa is that the ingredients are eminently variable, so if you don't have or don't like something, you can probably work around it.  Here's what I used, but adjust as you see fit: one large can whole peeled tomatoes, two cans original Ro-Tel tomatoes and green chilies, one bunch cilantro, a couple of  small Jalapeno peppers, one large green bell pepper, the juice of two limes, one large sweet onion, a couple of cloves of garlic, a bit of sugar, plenty of cumin, some smoked paprika (not pictured - oops!) and some salt.

This recipe is very, very easy, and this first step is most of the work.  Start by chopping up all of the fresh vegetables: the onion, bell pepper, jalapeno, and garlic.  The blender will finish the job, so don't worry too much about the size or uniformity of the chop.

I like to make my salsa in the blender in stages so I can get the flavor balance just right.  Start by adding all of the chopped vegetables above to the blender along with the large can of tomatoes, sugar, cumin, paprika, salt, lime juice, and salt.  Basically, that's everything but the Ro-Tel and the Cilantro.  I do this so it's easy to adjust the spice level - the spice of jalapenos can vary, especially depending on how many seeds you have (assuming you left them in).  The spice from the Ro-Tel chilies is more or less consistent, so it's easy to add bit by bit to achieve the level of spice you're looking for.  I generally end up content after two cans - you may want anywhere from none to several.

Give everything a few pulses in the blender until it's fairly well-mixed, then taste and see how you're doing so far.  If you're like me, it won't be nearly spicy enough yet, and you may also have underguessed on how much cumin or paprika you want in there, as well.  Adjust the seasonings and start to add Ro-Tel about a half can at a time, pulsing the blender in between to mix.  Stop when you've reached your desired level of spice.

Once things are appropriately spicy, add plenty of cilantro and give it a couple of last pulses to chop and mix through.  The cilantro can't survive much time in the blender, so we add it last to keep it relatively intact.  Taste again and add anything you want more of, then you're ready to serve.

This recipe makes a lot of salsa, so it's easy to serve it in a variety of ways.  It's great on chips, in tacos, or in any recipe that calls for salsa as an ingredient.  Store leftovers in a sealed container in the refrigerator - but don't expect them to last long.  If  you have anything like my salsa addiction, you'll pull those leftovers out to finish off in no time.

Recipe: Salsa
Prep Time: 10 Minutes | Cook Time: None | Difficulty: Easy | Yield: Approx. 2 Quarts

Ingredients

• 1 large can (28 oz) whole tomatoes.
• 2 medium (14.5 oz) cans Original Ro-Tel Tomatoes and Green Chilies
• 1 bunch Cilantro
• 2 small Jalapeno Peppers
• 1 large Green Bell Pepper
• 1 large Sweet Onion
• 2 clove Garlic
• Juice of two Limes
• 1 tbsp White Sugar
• 1 tbsp Cumin
• 2 tsp Smoked Paprika
• 2 tsp Salt

Instructions

1. Dice bell pepper, sweet onion, garlic, and Jalapeno peppers.
2. Add diced vegetables to blender along with all other ingredients except Ro-Tel and Cilantro.  Pulse several times to blend.
3. Taste and adjust seasonings.  Add a half can of Ro-Tel at a time and pulse to blend.  Taste and stop adding Ro-Tel when desired spice level is reached.
4. Chop cilantro and add to blender.  Pulse to mix through.
5. Serve immediately or refrigerate to preserve freshness.