Pear Chutney
This is perfectly wonderful with duck, or another poultry. You might also swirl it into a curried soup for an intriguing bit of additional flavor and body. You could also serve it with soft, ripe cheese, like Brie.
Ingredients
- 1 small white onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 lime
- 6 firm pears preferably Bosc
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons golden raisins
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon dried hot pepper flakes
- 1 cinnamon stick 2 inches long
- ½ cup orange juice
- ½ cup coarsely chopped toasted, and skinned hazelnuts or unsalted roasted cashews
- ¼ cup chopped mint leaves
Instructions
- Peel, trim, and chop the onion fine. Peel, trim, and mince the garlic. Thinly slice the lime. Peel, core, and cut the pears into 1-inch chunks.
- In a large saucepan, sauté the onion in the olive oil over medium heat, stirring, until translucent. Add the garlic and cook until lightly colored, but do not let it brown. Add the brown sugar and vinegar, stir to combine and to dissolve the sugar, and bring the mixture to a boil.
- Add the pears, lime, raisins, fresh ginger, cloves, pepper flakes, cinnamon stick, and orange juice and stir to combine. Cover the pan, reduce the heat to low, and cook, stirring now and then, for 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let the chutney cool to room temperature. Stir in the nuts and chopped mint. The chutney keeps, covered, in the refrigerator for 1 month.