Cherry Chutney

Chutney is an Indian sauce or spread that can paired with a variety of dishes. It can be served with crackers, flatbread or naan as an appetizer; some people eat it with fried or baked tofu, others pair it with various animal proteins. It can be sweet or savoury, sour and spicy, nutty and fruity. For this recipe, I used dark-red sweetheart cherries. They were easy to pit and worked great for this mild sweet variation which is great over creamy, plain yoghurt, pork or turkey.

18 oz sweet cherries such as Bing or sweetheart (500 g or 455 g pitted)
1 small red onion (2.3 oz) or ½ cup diced in ¼" (65 g)
2 Tbsp. (¾ oz) fresh ginger, finely minced (20 g)
4½ Tbsp. white wine vinegar
3½ oz dark brown sugar (100 g)
3 Tbsp. lime juice, freshly squeezed (from 1-2 limes)
½ tsp. ground allspice
¼ tsp. sea salt
¼ tsp. black pepper, freshly ground
1½ neutral-tasting oil for frying

Wash cherries and pit them.

Dice onion finely, place together with the oil in a heavy saucepan over medium heat and cook for 4-5 minutes until translucent. Don't brown it.

Add minced ginger and cook for 1 minute.
Deglaze with vinegar, then add sugar, cherries, lime juice and allspice.

Let simmer, uncovered, for 30-40 minutes over medium heat, stirring often.

Season with salt and black pepper.

The Chutney is ready, when there is still a little liquid at the bottom of the saucepan left. This will thicken when cooled and gives the Chutney a creamy texture.

Remove pan from the heat, put chutney in a sterilized jar and seal. Let the chutney cool down and refrigerate - or eat it warm right away.