This Fig and Cranberry Chutney is so much better and easier to make than cranberry sauce. I love that this modern twist on a Thanksgiving classic.
Cranberry sauce in a mold is starting to feel a bit dated, and getting the cranberry sauce out of the mold intact is a challenging task. This chutney is a great alternative to cranberry sauce. It has bold bright flavors and it tastes great on its own or paired with turkey. It is also an excellent addition to a post-Thanksgiving sandwich.
This recipe only takes 25 minutes to prepare, and only 10 minutes of active preparation time. You just need to do some chopping, sautéing, and boiling. Anyone can make this recipe with ease.
The figs add a rich flavor to the chutney while letting the cranberry be the start of the show. The orange breaks down almost completely as the chutney cooks, but the citrus notes remain noticeable. The chutney is filled chunks of cranberry adding a nice texture and burst of flavor to each bite.
When I hosted Thanksgiving for my friends this was one of their favorite dishes. I was a little surprised because in the past cranberry sauce hasn't been that popular! I know that not everyone loves figs, and that they can be hard to find sometimes, I think that you could make a cranberry chutney by simply omitting the figs.
You can make this chutney a couple of days ahead of time. I think it even tastes best after it rests for a couple of days, plus it is always nice to have a couple recipes ready before Thanksgiving day. Making this a day or two early also gives the chutney plenty of time to chill, you want to serve it chilled. This is an easy no fuss side dish to bring to a Thanksgiving dinner, it travels well and doesn't need to be heated.
If you want to try another cranberry recipe, make this cranberry salsa. It's as a dip or side dish.
Adapted from Bon Appetit.
Fig and Cranberry Chutney
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 Medium Shallot
- ¾ teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons Fresh Ginger Minced
- 1 Medium Orange
- 6 Fresh Figs chopped
- 1 cup Sugar
- ½ cup Red Wine Vinegar
- ½ cup Water
- ¾ teaspoon Dry Mustard
- 1 10 ounce Bag of Cranberries
- Salt
Instructions
- First remove and discard the peel and seeds from the orange. Then loosely chop the orange.
- Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the shallot and cook for 3 minutes, until the shallot becomes translucent. Then add the cinnamon and cook for another minute.
- Stir in the ginger, orange, figs, sugar, vinegar, water, and dry mustard. Bring to a simmer and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
- Add the cranberries and increase the heat until the mixture begins to steadily boil. Stir frequently and let the mixture boil for about 15 minutes, until the cranberries have burst and the mixture is thick and syrupy.
- Season with salt, and then pour into a container, cover, and place in the fridge to cool.
- Serve chilled.
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