Hello Recipe Club,

Today I would like to focus on chutneys and a particularly lovely little dessert sauce that I used at Chimney Park Bistro for the Chef2Chef fundraising dinner we did in August.

Peaches were donated to the restaurant and I was asked to do a chutney for them. The peaches were indeed wonderful - fragrant and alive with flavour. I didn't want to ruin the wonderful texture of the fruit, so I made a quick cooking chutney. We also did a Beet-Strawberry Chutney, to accompany a cheese platter. But either of these chutneys can be used in a whole slew of places - as a topping for a hot and spicy dish, and a sandwich component (chutney and cheese melts - yum!), a dipping sauce for a kebab, stuffing for Cornish hen or duck, a sauce for game meats, etc. The possibilities are endless!

Chutneys are Indian, coming from the Hindu word "chatni". They are almost always cooked, but raw chutneys are used as well. The British took a shine to them and took them home with them, the most famous being the "Major Grey's Chutney" (composed of mango). Since then the proliferation of chutney in the UK, Caribbean and North America has been staggering.

The tea sauce is a delicate sauce that you can use on any dessert - perhaps something light and delicate like a Pavlova or even with a bowl of fruit. The tea you use is up to you. I used a Cherry Rose Green Tea - the aroma and flavour are wonderful. But any berry or fruit-infused tisane works great with this. Try to use a tea with nice colour too.

Chef Paul Silva

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Peach Chutney

Makes 6 cups

Ingredient:

5 pounds peaches, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons garlic, minced
2 tablespoons ginger, minced
1 teaspoon cardamom, ground
2 tablespoons pickling spice, ground
juice of 6 limes
juice of 2 lemons
1/2 cup brown sugar
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped fine

Preparation:

In a medium saucepot, combine all the ingredients except for the cilantro. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. If more liquid is needed, add more lime juice.

Cook for about 15 minutes, or until it thickens up (remember it will continue to thicken up as it cools).

Fold in the cilantro and let cool completely.

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Beet-Strawberry Chutney

Makes 1 cup

Ingredients:

6 large beets, peeled and chopped small
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup orange juice
4 shallots, peeled and minced
2 tablespoons garlic, minced
2 tablespoons ginger, minced
1 teaspoon 5-spice powder
juice of 6 lemons
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1 pint strawberries, hulled and chopped small
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste

Preparation:

Soak the raisins and dried cranberries in the orange juice for at least 2 hours.

In a medium saucepot, add the beets, shallots, garlic, ginger, 5-spice, lemon juice, sugar, re-hydrated raisins, dried cranberries and orange juice. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer.

Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes until the beets have softened. Add the strawberries and continue to cook over medium heat until thickened. Remember the chutney will continue to thicken as it cools.

Remove from heat and cool completely.

Season with salt and pepper.

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Tea Reduction

Ingredients:

4 tea bags
2 cups water
1 cup sugar

Preparation:

Use fruit-infused teas and/or tisanes. Bring the cold water, tea bags and sugar to a boil in a small saucepot.

Reduce to medium heat and allow the liquid to reduce down to a glaze. Remove the tea bags halfway, so that they don't make the sauce bitter and to prevent them from sticking to the bottom.

When the reduction has become the consistency of maple syrup, remove from heat. Allow to cool.

If the sauce hardens after it cools, warm up in a double boiler or in the microwave.