Smoked Peach Chutney

Biting through velvet skin into the honeyed-sweet juiciness of a peach is such a summer pleasure. I’ve been on a quest, from farm stand to farm stand, to find the best of the bunch and have tasted this summer the stuff poets write about. Of course, a few weekends back, I got a bit carried away at a local stand, and I ended up with more peaches than I knew what to do with. What better way to use up this peak season fruit than to turn it into a chutney…Interestingly enough, it was a cocktail that inspired the flavor combo for the chutney; the drink had bourbon, crème de peche and cumin. Genius! The smokiness of the bourbon played beautifully off of the sweet tanginess of the peach intermingling with the warm earthiness of the cumin. I wanted to figure out how to capture that in this chutney.

Smoking was the answer, and you can use either a stovetop smoker (my lifesaver in a NYC kitchen…) or the grill. The smoked peaches by themselves are distinctive but a bit overwhelming until cooked down a bit more with some sugar, honey and the roasted cumin seeds. The resulting chutney has a gorgeous flavor! Smoky, sweet, tangy, with the bite of the cumin seed…it’s perfect on pork chops, fish or even with creamy brie on crackers. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Yields approximately 1 quart

6 large, lusciously-ripe peaches, halved with pit removed (skin on)

1 ¼ tbsps cumin seeds

2-3 tbsps water

¼ cup sugar

¼ cup honey

pinch of salt

Procedure

The first step of this chutney is smoking the peaches. I used a stovetop smoker and cherry wood. Placing the peaches cut side down on the grate, I smoked the peaches for 6 minutes and achieved the perfect level of smokiness. If you choose to do this on the grill, I would keep the temperature low (200° F to 225° F). Once the chips start to smoke, place the peaches cut side down on the side with no flame (indirect heat), cover, and smoke for about 10-15 minutes.

Peel the peaches, the skin should slip off relatively easily, and cut into a fine dice. Set aside.

Heat a medium-sized pot over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds, and toast, stirring, until fragrant and slightly darker in color. Reduce the heat slightly, add the diced peaches and remaining ingredients and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring at intervals, until the peaches are soft. You want this chutney to have form, so overcooking will turn the peaches to mush.

You can serve this warm, cold, or at room temperature.

Sweet Chili Jam

Happy 4th of July! I hope everyone is having a fantastic day, and enjoying a nice bbq with friends and family (I know I am!). I have gone waay too far with my menu today – lamb burgers with pickled cukes, some shrimp cakes, grilled corn, roasted potato salad, spiced grilled shitakes, a big green salad with cherry tomatoes and asparagus, pineapples soaked in orange liqueur, and a great pitcher of rum punch…

As promised, here’s the chili jam I use (on basically everything…) on my lamb burgers. Sweet, spicy, tart, and jammy…a beautifully versatile condiment that is soooo easy to make. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Yields approximately 3 cups

2-3 tbsp oil

3 medium white onions, thinly sliced (~2 lbs)

3 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped

10 red fresno chilies or combination red fresno / red finger chilies, finely chopped

1 cinnamon stick

1 dried bay leaf

¾ cup apple cider vinegar

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 cup water

Salt to taste

Procedure

In a medium-sized pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and a bit of salt and cook slowly to caramelize, about 25 to 30 minutes. You don’t want the onions to brown quickly but rather develop a caramel color as they soften and sweeten, so keep the heat at about medium-low and stir at intervals.

Add the rest of the ingredients and bring up to a boil for 5 minutes, covered. Lower to a simmer for another 25 minutes, removing the lid and stirring for the last 5 to 10 minutes of cooking.

Remove bay leaf and cinnamon stick and process in a food processor to a jam-like texture.

Spicy Creole Ketchup

As a promised follow up to the smoked herring croquettes I posted on Monday, here is a delicious dipping sauce for them or wherever you’d usually use ketchup. In Haiti, smoked herring is often eaten in a Creole sauce that contains onions, tomatoes, habaneros, vinegar and ground cloves. To me, that translates almost directly to ketchup!

If you read the recipe, one thing I do might seem a bit strange if you haven’t seen it before. I cook the sugar in oil first, almost to the point of burning. This is actually how a lot of West Indian stews start off, though many use a jarred product called browning which is effectively the same thing. It imparts a caramelized flavor that isn’t altogether unlike molasses, and it worked really well as a ketchup base.

The resulting ketchup is a touch smoky, with heat from the habaneros and spice from the cloves and nutmeg. It will keep for weeks as is but is also safe to load into sterilized bottles if you wish to keep it longer. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Yields approximately 2 cups

1 (28-oz) can whole tomatoes in purée

2 tbsps olive oil

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

1 small red onion, cut into a medium dice

½-1 habanero pepper, seeded and ribbed, finely chopped

healthy pinch of ground cloves

healthy pinch of ground nutmeg

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp sundried or regular tomato paste

1/3 cup cider vinegar

Salt to taste

Chives, finely chopped

Procedure

In a blender, pour entire contents of the can of tomatoes and purée until smooth.

Heat a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add oil. Add sugar and cook stirring for 2 to 3 minutes until the sugar turns gelatinous and sticks together. It should darken in color, and you should smell like its about to burn. Add chopped onion, habanero, and spices, and cook for another 4-5 minutes until the onions have softened. Don’t worry if the sugar solidifies when you add the onions – it will redissolve. Add minced garlic and tomato paste and cook for another 2 minutes.

Add puréed tomatoes and vinegar. Bring to a slow bubble and simmer for an hour, stirring every now and then.

Remove from the heat and let cool. Return everything to the blender and purée until smooth. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. Fold in chopped chives before serving. This ketchup will keep for about a month – longer if placed in sterilized jars.

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