All Four Burners

Lemon Clementine Chutney with Dried Cranberries

Posted on 31 December 2013

Neccessity is the mother of invention.

More accurately, not wanting to waste food is. You see, I’ve used fruit as decoration for our annual (?) holiday party for the past few years. This year, I was determined not to let it go to waste.

In my house, cooking large amounts of fruit naturally means preserving. I had planned to make lemon curd for this month’s Can It Up, but someone already covered it.

Marmalade, the obvious alternative for citrus, doesn’t go very far in our household. I made a single batch of marmalade earlier this year. Matt declared his hatred for all marmalade before he even tried mine. Boo!

Given the recent popularity of chutney among the friends and neighbors, it seemed like the right choice. But why isn’t lemon chutney a thing? It should be!

Liz, my chutney guru, came to the rescue, as she had during a recent tomato glut. Her recipe was mashed up with my standard chutney recipe. I threw in some mustard seeds, rosemary, and cayenne for good measure.

The most trying part of making chutney is waiting the few months until it mellows and is ready to eat. I suspect that this extra lemony and tangy chutney will be devastating (in a good way) with roasted chicken and perhaps even lamb.

Do you utilize natural elements to decorate for the holidays?

Last year: Pomegranate Port Jelly

Generously adapted from Liz the Chef