Shana Tova!

BAKED BEANS WITH SHROPSHIRE APPLE CHUTNEY

Apples and honey are ubiquitous at Rosh Hashanah feasts and often eaten in the hope that the New Year ahead will be even sweeter than the previous one. Adding The Collective's Shropshire Apple Chutney to these wonderfully homey baked beans guarantees at least the first couple of days will be good ones (if you have any leftovers). The recipe below can feed up to 18 as a side dish but can be halved quite easily.

• 1 medium onion, cut into small dice
• 1/2 medium green pepper, cut into small dice
• 3 large cans small white (i.e. Navy) beans
• 3/4 cup Shropshire Apple Chutney
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup distilled or cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons dry mustard or 2 tablespoons Dijon
• Salt and Black Pepper to taste

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. 

Fry onions and peppers in a very large skillet with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. 

Add beans and remaining ingredients bring to a simmer. (If skillet is not large enough, add beans and heat to a simmer then transfer to a large bowl and stir in remaining ingredients). 

Pour flavored beans into a greased 13-by 9-inch (or similar size) ovenproof pan. Bake until beans are bubbly and sauce is the consistency of pancake syrup, about 2 hours. Let stand to thicken slightly and serve.

Spicing Up Oktoberfest (i.e. National Marlene Dietrich Month)

Autumn is eagerly awaited each year by the crisp weather-loving, hearty food enthusiasts here at The DP Chutney Collective. We need at least three Fall celebrations, so in addition to Halloween and Thanksgiving, Oktoberfest is an early justification for plenty of dark, rich beers and the densely delicious meals that best accompany them. Not to mention rainy evenings in front of Dietrich/Von Sternberg movies, kitted out with warm German soft pretzels and chutney dunking sauces. Below are a few ideas for incorporating DP Collective chutneys in a range of dishes typically served at Oktoberfest gatherings.



OBATZTER (German Beer Cheese Spread)

Especially addictive when brightened with zesty Curried Peach Chutney and served with brown bread and dark stout. Try it with brown rice crackers and ice-cold vodka for a wheat-free alternative.

• Camembert or a similar cheese, cut into small pieces -- 16 ounces
• Butter, softened -- 3 tablespoons
• Red onion, minced -- 1
• German ale (optional) -- 1/4 to 1/3 cup
• The DP Chutney Collective's Curried Peach Chutney -- 2-3 tablespoons
• Sweet Paprika -- 2 teaspoons
• Caraway Seeds, lightly crushed -- 1 teaspoon
• White pepper -- 1 teaspoon

1. Place all of the ingredients together in a large bowl and mash together with a large fork or potato masher until smooth and fluffy. Alternatively, you can pulse all of the ingredients in a food processor. Adjust seasoning to taste.
2. Place the cheese spread in a bowl. Garnish with more minced red onion, chopped chives or sliced radishes if you like. 

SPAETZLE GRATIN

Discovering how easily this impressive hybrid of pasta and dumplings is to prepare almost guarantees spaetzle a new place in your kitchen repertoire. Our Juniper Berry Chutney used here also makes an excellent and unique condiment when spooned over slices of Schweinebraten, or German roast pork.

• Flour --3 cups
• Salt -- 1 teaspoon
• White pepper -- 1/2 teaspoon
• Nutmeg (optional) -- 1/2 teaspoon
• Eggs, beaten -- 3-4
• Water or milk -- 1 cup

1. Sift the flour, salt, pepper and optional nutmeg together in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl beat together the eggs and milk or water. Mix the egg mixture into the dry ingredients and beat well with a fork or whisk until smooth. Add a little more liquid or flour as needed to get a thick and elastic yet pourable consistency.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Working in batches of 1 to 1 1/2 cups at a time, pour the batter through a sieve or colander with large holes (about 1/8-1/4 inch) so small bits drop off into the boiling water. Let cook for about 1 minute, or until the spätzle noodles float to the top. Remove with a slotted spoon to another bowl. Continue with the remaining batter until it is all used up.
3. Layer spätzle with shredded Emmenthaler cheese and generous drizzles of Juniper Berry Chutney in a greased casserole dish. Bake at 350˚F until the cheese is melted, 15-20 minutes. Optionally, top with onions browned in butter, sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve. This is a nice touch if serving as a vegetarian entree.

 WIENER BACKHENDL (Austrian breaded and fried chicken)

 An Oktoberfest favorite in Munich, Austrian breaded, fried chicken is typically served with potato salad, lemon wedges and a few tossed greens. The Collective prefers it with mashed potatoes, a parsley salad dressed with lemon vinaigrette and plenty of Green Tomato and Horseradish, Spice Route Citrus and Gingered Raisin chutneys for dipping and dolloping. Consider these seriously improved McNuggets. 

• Boneless Chicken Breasts or Thighs, cut into serving pieces -- about 3 pounds
• Lemon juice -- 2 tablespoons
• Salt and pepper -- to season
• Flour -- 1 cup
• Eggs, beaten with a little water -- 2
• Breadcrumbs -- 1 1/2 cups
• Oil for deep frying
• DP Collective chutneys for serving

1. Toss the chicken in a large bowl with the lemon juice, salt and pepper. Set aside to marinate for at least 30 minutes.
2. Put the flour in one bowl, the eggs in another bowl and the breadcrumbs in a third bowl. One at a time, dip the chicken pieces first in the flour, then in the egg, and finally in the breadcrumbs to coat. Set the breaded chicken pieces on a baking sheet to let the coating set.
3. Heat the oil to 370°F. Deep fry the chicken pieces for 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. Reduce heat to low and continue to cook for another 20 minutes, turning often. Drain on paper towels and serve hot with chutneys in side dishes.

Learn How To Make Chutney and Feed Hungry New Yorkers

Food Network's NYC Wine and Food Festival

More than 200 items are up for bid at the New York City Wine & Food Festival Online Auction.  The DP Chutney Collective has donated an In-Home Cooking Class for up to 6 Friends + spicy swag bags to help fight hunger.  Bid now and bid big!

The Collective Brings Our Chutneys to the Finger Lakes' 2011 Riesling Festival

Restaurant Girl Loves Our Chutneys

The Collective is thrilled to be honored by Restaurant Girl (a/k/a/ author and food guru Danyelle Freeman) as among New York's best pickled products! Chutney is sort of a pickle, as RG explains in the Best Of article found here.

Brave the Heat and Be Rewarded with Corn Chutney

Please stop by to say Hi this Saturday at the McCarren Park (Greenpoint-Williamsburg) Green Market from 11AM till 1PM. The Collective may be dewy in the 100-degree weather but we promise we'll be smiling through a one-day only demo of one of Summer's biggest hits, our spicy and sweet Punjab Corn Chutney. Free samples for all!

Bust Magazine Cooks Chutney With the The Collective

Click here to read about our recent canning and cooking adventures with Grace Evans of Bust magazine.

Chutney Making at the Brooklyn Brainery

Our upcoming chutney and canning class at the Brooklyn Brainery has sold out and we're tres excited to share our niche knowledge with enthusiastic home chefs. Be sure to look into the learning center's fascinating array of other courses available and of course, keep checking back in the next couple of months for info on our next class.

DP Chutney on ABC News 7!

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If you haven't already you really must drop in Carroll Gardens' ultimate homage to local products, the nifty store By Brooklyn. The shop and its friendly owner Gaia were profiled today on News 7, along with chutneys from The Collective. By Brooklyn stocks loads of great personal and gift items, including Collective faves such as HoneyHeat sauce from Cheshire Canning and our hot weather staple, soda syrups from P&H Soda.

Calling All Adventerous Palettes: Chantico Chocolate & Chile Chutney

Chantico is an ancient Aztec deity charged with keeping the hearth fires burning and the protection of other valuable resources. Since The DP Chutney Collective always keeps the stove flames lit - stirring and tending to our precious concoctions - we thought the name appropriate to borrow for our latest condiment, Chantico Chocolate and Chile Chutney.

Inspired by the myriad of dark and rich mole sauces of Oaxaca and Puebla, our brand new chutney is a velvety smooth, long-simmered puree of fresh NYS tomatoes and onions, garlic, the finest cocoa powder and dried Ancho and Guajillo chiles. After bubbling away until thick and luscious the brick-red/chocolate brown chutney is sweetened with brown sugar, tarted up with cider vinegar and spiced with cloves, nutmeg, cumin, Mexican oregano leaves and more.

Of course you'll be lapping it up with tortillas and beans and rice but we also love a couple of tablespoons mixed with ground turkey for a light and lean burger with exotic flavor for miles! Try Chantico Chocolate and Chile Chutney also with huevos rancheros or drizzled over crab cakes or salmon croquettes. Also recommended with all poultry dishes and sharp, aged Cheddar cheeses.

In keeping with the Latin American theme of the chutney, The Collective presents our fail-proof recipe for Quinoa burgers below - outrageously good (and healthy) served piping hot and topped with Chantico!

QUINOA BURGERS

2 cups cooked and cooled quinoa

3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup cottage cheese

1 medium carrot, finely grated

3 eggs

3 tablespoons all purpose flour

2 green onions, sliced very thinly

ground black pepper and salt to taste

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 clove garlic, minced

In a large bowl combine the cooked quinoa, cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, carrot, eggs, flour, green onions, pepper, cumin, salt, and garlic.

Heat a frying pan and a couple of tablespoons olive oil over medium-low heat.  Measure 1/4 cup of the quinoa mix and form into patties about 1/2 inch thick  - mixture will be slightly sticky.  Fry until golden-brown, about 4 minutes on each side.

This should make about 12 small patties so be prepared to cook in two batches or two skillets simultaneously.

Mango Chile Tofu Stir-Fry

Who doesn't crave healthier and lighter dinners during the sweltering days of Summer? When slammed with a lagging appetite and an aversion to your hot stove, try this vegetarian entree - it's ready in minutes and need only be combined with rice or noodles.

Save yourself the simmering time and combat kitchen humidity by picking up a Chinese restaurant container of rice on your way home and the following recipe is almost painless.

Confirmed carnivores can swap out the tofu for cubed chicken breasts or boneless, skinless thighs (just be sure to adjust cooking times ensuring your poultry's safe preparation!) The Collective has also substituted cleaned shrimp for the tofu with most excellent results.

MANGO CHILE TOFU STIR-FRY

• 1 lb. extra-firm tofu, well-drained in kitchen towels and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2-3 T. vegetable or peanut oil
• 1 large onion, sliced thinly
• 1/2 each green and red pepper (or yellow, purple etc), sliced thinly
• 1 clove garlic, mined
• 2-3 dried red chilies
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 3-4 T. The DP Chutney Collective's Mango-Chile Ketchup

Heat a large skillet or wok until quite hot. Add vegetable oil and fry tofu until browned on most sides. Work carefully as the tofu tends to break easily. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels. Salt and pepper very generously.

Now add the onion, peppers, garlic and red chilies to the pan and cook over a medium-high flame until they are just becoming barely soft. Return the tofu to the pan and add the Mango-Chile Ketchup. Stir gently and heat through for 1 minute.

Serve hot, garnished if desired with chopped scallions, snipped chives or cilantro sprigs.

Thanks to All the Enthusiastic Tasters at the Slideluck Potshow!!

And Amy Eddings Shows Love for The DPCC

 CLICK HERE TO READ HER PERSONAL BLOG ENTRY ON THE DPCC

Chatting on NPR's All Things Considered with Amy Eddings

The DP Chutney Collective was collectively thrilled to be a guest on NPR's All Things Considered and given the opportunity to chat with our airwaves hero Amy Eddings. Click HERE to listen and read more about the DPCC.

Sun-dried Tomato and Balsamico Chutney

Without further ado The DP Chutney Collective unveils its latest addition to the family - Sun-dried Tomato and Balsamico Chutney. A must-have condiment for Italian food devotees, this saucy little number combines Old World Southern European ingredients - sun-dried and vine-ripe tomatoes, oak-aged balsamic vinegar - with plump, sweet raisins, onions and an unexpected dose of Eastern spice (fresh Thai chilies, fenugreek, turmeric and more).

Of course you'll want to stir a spoon into most pasta sauces or bowls of minestrone, but also savor this sweet and thick chutney alongside quiches, fritattas, omelets and savory bread puddings. We love it especially with slices of meatloaf and tucked into Brie and green apple sandwiches.

Chutney Deviled Eggs

Need a side dish for Easter brunch? Want to fill your picnic basket with outrageous goodness? Like starting your morning with something kickier than a bowl of oatmeal? If you answered Yes or Maybe to any of the previous questions then The Collective has a recipe guaranteed to delight.

Start by hard boiling 6 free-range and organic eggs. We've found the easiest method is to place the eggs in a pot with cold water covering them by at least 2 inches. Bring to a boil and remove the pot from the heat. Cover. Let sit for 12-15 minutes then cool eggs in a bowl of ice water. This should ensure prefectly cooked hard-boiled eggs with no chance of that unpleasant dark ring around the yolk.

When the eggs have cooled a bit, peel. This is easiest to do in a large bowl of cold water.

Slice eggs in half (lengthwise) and carefully scoop out the yolks and place in a mixing bowl. Work gently with a small spoon to avoid breaking the whites. Mash the yolks with a bit of salt and black pepper and EQUAL amounts of mayonnaise and Apricot and Red Pepper Chutney from The DP Chutney Collective. (You'll probably want to use about 1/4 cup of each; under-stuffed eggs are always such a drag). Once the yolks have been mixed well stuff them in to the reserved egg halves. Sprinkle/garnish the eggs with salt and cayenne pepper.

Slideluck Potshow

The DP Chutney Collective will be sampling our creations - including two debut products! - at the upcoming Food meets Art extravaganza and worldwide phenomenon Slideluck Potshow XVI, held this year at the majestic St Ann's Warehouse. Visit their website to learn more about this inspiring event which, with a main dish slide show of local photographers curated by The New Yorker's Whitney Johnson, is certain to feed your eyes as well as hungry stomach.

Mark Your Calendars!

The DP Chutney Collective will be teaching a hands-on class in chutney making and canning at Brooklyn's own gourmet food super-store The Brooklyn Kitchen and Meat Hook on May 18. In just 2 hours we'll be making a sweet and savory Sun-dried Tomato and Ginger Chutney and a Spicy Anglo-Indian Lime Chutney, canning both to take home and additionally sampling many of the Collective's condiments paired with cheeses and meats.

For more info and to sign up click here.

Plum Blossom Chicken

This versatile chicken recipe brings just a hint of the impending Spring to your still chilly kitchen. Wonderful with jasmine rice and a salad for a simple and quick dinner, the sweet and spicy chicken is every bit as delicious the next day, cold and nestled in your picnic basket alongside potato salad and deviled eggs. Vegetarians can substitute tofu for the poultry used here - simply marinate the tofu in the plum ketchup mixture for an hour or so and then broil approximately 10 minutes per side.

PLUM BLOSSOM CHICKEN

1 large organic and free-range chicken, cut into 6 pieces / salt and black pepper / 2 T. butter / 1 t. curry powder (or more if you like) / 1/2 cup Plum Ketchup from The DP Chutney Collective / 1/4 cup cream sherry (more if mixture is too dry) / 1 thinly sliced lemon

• Season well with salt and pepper and then brown chicken in butter on all sides for about 10 minutes total. 
• Stir curry powder into accumulated juices, then blend Plum Ketchup and sherry and pour over chicken. Place a slice of lemon on each piece of chicken, cover pan and reduce heat to low. 
• Cook for 30 minutes and serve chicken with pan juices poured over all. If the juices are too thin, boil for a minute to thicken.
• If desired, garnish with cilantro sprigs or shredded shiso leaves.

Side Dish: Spicy Red Cabbage with Shropshire Apple Chutney

While winter's chill lingers into early Spring you're probably still craving hearty, cold-weather meals. Spicy and sweet red cabbage is a universally loved co-star to (just to name a few options) broiled pork chops, roast chicken, braised rabbit, potato pancakes or gnocchi in cream sauce.

• Chop 1 head of red cabbage coarsely (you should have about 7- cups) and fry briefly in 2 T. of oil or butter in a large saucepan or Dutch oven. After a minute or so add 1 sliced onion.
• Now add to the pot: 5 T. or so of water and salt and black pepper to taste. Sprinkle all with a t. or so of cider vinegar and cover. Simmer on a low flame for about 25 minutes.
• When the cabbage is tender and almost all of the liquid absorbed, stir in 3 T. of The DP Chutney Collective's Shropshire Apple Chutney. If more heat is desired add up to 1/2 t. of cayenne pepper; if you want a sweeter flavor, add up to a T. of sugar and stir well.
•   Adjust salt and pepper if needed and serve hot.