Pineapple and Cranberry Chutney

We’ve made Colada Quaker and Colada Morada using the rinds and the hearts of pineapples, but what do you do with the actual pineapple?!  I suppose you can eat it plain, as it is – something I can’t do because I can’t stomach pineapple by itself.  So, instead of letting that pineapple left over from the Colada Quaker go to waste, I decided to make a chutney.  Having the pineapple drowned in other flavors and fruits makes it easier to eat.  Not to mention, delicious!

Chances are you have some frozen cranberries left over from the holidays; I normally buy a few bags when they go on sale once Christmas is over.  The rest of the ingredients are ones you most likely already have in your pantry.  To add a bit of interest to this chutney, I threw in a green chili, halved – seeds and all.  This will give this chutney a bit of a kick.

Cookery instruments needed:

Small sauce pan, wooden spoon.

Cookery ingredients used:

Pineapple: 2 cups, chopped; cranberries: 1 cup; 1 green chili, halved; a few sprigs of Mexican cinnamon; 1 star anise; 3 whole cloves; 3 whole allspice, a pinch of salt; 1/2 cup brown sugar and 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar.

Throw all the ingredients in a sauce pan and cook on medium heat, covered, until the cranberries practically dissolve and you have a thick, chunky consistency.

Once cooked remove the green chili, the cinnamon, the allspice and the cloves.

Serve with some crackers, or as a condiment with some pork loin for instance.  This chutney has a wonderful taste: the sweetness of the pineapples and the cinnamon; the tartness of the cranberries, all perfectly balanced with an aromatic spice from the star anise, the cloves and the allspice.  Throw in a bit of heat from that chili, and you have a party in your mouth.  Yummy!