The heaviest, most awkwardly wrapped and cautiously placed gift under my Christmas tree this year was a bowl full of homegrown Meyer lemons. While here in New York we're fully ensconced in cellared vegetable season (turnips! beets! potatoes!) my family in California is kicking off citrus season, so I was lucky to have some beautiful Meyers brought straight from Los Angeles.
We blew through a few of them right away — squirted into cocktails and squeezed over ricotta pancakes — but to clear out the rest, I needed a quick solution, ideally one that would keep well and get me through the rough patches of an east coast winter.
My first thought was to juice them into an ice cube tray and deal with it later, but then what about the flesh? Freeze it, too? You can do better than that, I told myself. That's when I thought of my friend Amy, her love of chutney and her belief that a person needs a properly stocked condiment collection. Mine has been low lately; it would be wise to start off 2012 with a remedy. Lemon chutney.
This is a classic clear-the-cupboards recipe. I used dried cherries because they were sitting there in the cabinet, staring me straight in the face, but you can use raisins or currants instead. As written, it's spicy, so decrease or leave out the chile flakes if you want a mild chutney. Obviously you don't need to use Meyer lemons, but if you haven't worked with them before and you see them at the market, give them a try. Meyers are sweeter than regular lemons since they have mandarin oranges as distant relatives. Even holding one in your hand feels different; like a sunshine egg, heavy, sweet, smooth.
As for how to use it, this chutney would be great smeared on a sandwich, stirred into some hot pasta, or spooned on top of scrambled eggs. Its uses are endless. The night I made the chutney, Amy happened to stop by. We sat at my counter and ate it slathered on crackers with crème fraîche, her eyes crossing in ecstatic approval.

makes about 3/4 cup
4 small lemons (about 8 ounces/220 grams)
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 shallot, minced (about 1/3 cup)
1/4 teaspoon chili flakes
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
pinch cloves
1/3 cup lightly packed brown sugar (1/4 cup if using Meyer lemons)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup dried unsweetened sour (also labeled "tart") cherries or raisins, roughly chopped
Zest the lemons, avoiding the pith (white part). Cut away the pith and discard as if to prepare a lemon for segments (following steps 1-3 of the suprême method.) Pick out any seeds. Roughly chop the flesh. Transfer the zest and the flesh to a glass or ceramic bowl and combine with the salt. Set aside for at least an hour.
In a small sauce pan, heat the oil over medium low heat and add the shallot and chile flakes and sauté until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the ginger, coriander, and cloves and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the salted lemon mixture and cook for another minute. Pour in the sugar, vinegar and lemon juice. Bring the mixture to a boil then immediately lower the heat so that the mixture is barely simmering. Stir and cook gently for about 30-40 minutes, stirring in the cherries after about 20 minutes. The mixture is done when it has thickened almost to the consistency of jam.
Let the mixture cool, then spoon into a sterile 6-ounce jar to keep in the refrigerator for up to a month, or serve within 3 days. Chutney can also be canned following proper canning techniques.
Related: Recipe: Spaghetti with Mascarpone, Meyer Lemon, Spinach, and Hazelnuts
(Images: Sara Kate Gillingham-Ryan)
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Comments (13)
Do you know if this recipe would be acceptable to waterbath process? It looks too yummy to make just one jar.
Is it possible to use fresh cherries instead of dried ones? I happen to have a bunch of fresh cherries that I need to use up...
@Joanne K-J
Of course - that is what I mean by storing in a sterilized jar. Double, triple, quadruple!
This makes my mouth water! I used to have a Meyer lemon tree in my office and know for a fact that flavor of these lemons is so much softer and richer than the ones you buy in the store. Wish my tree was still alive!
@mel_fraggle
You can use fresh cherries but I might then reduce the liquid since fresh cherries will release a lot of their own juices. However, since the process of making a chutney is simply reducing down the liquids, you could also just simmer it longer.
Let me know how it goes!
This looks awesome and I just got a huge bag of meyer lemons. :) Instead of storing in the refrigerator, can I "can" this for longer storage?
For those asking about canning this chutney, the answer is yes. I've added a link for proper canning techniques to the recipe.
As the proud owner of a Meyer lemon tree, I can tell you that we have to be creative with our fruit—last year we had dozens upon dozens upon dozens of lemons!
This year, we kept it simple: we froze a cup and a half of pure juice in individual Mason jars and will thaw as needed, using mostly to make Meyer Lemonade and my husband's killer Meyer Lemon Lavender Cake.
I'll keep the chutney in mind for next year!
Did you use sweet cherries or dried sour cherries? I would like to make the recipe using sour cherries & I was wondering if sugar needed increased.
@eitak
I used unsweetened tart cherries, also known as sour cherries and will note that in the recipe. Most dried cherries are sour cherries unless noted, usually as the "Bing" variety. However, not all dried sour cherries are unsweetened.
Would this work with oranges and dried unsweetened cranberries instead of lemons and cherries? I'm not much of a cherry fan, and I have a million oranges right now
I made this this and served tonight with a grilled marinated pork tenderlloin and it got rave reviews. It's very tart with a bit of sweetness and offsets a rich meat. I think you could also spread it on a bit of cream cheese on a cracker as an hors d'oevre...delicious!
I made this to serve with brie and crostini for Christmas Eve dinner. I used Meyer lemons and dried cranberries. They were a tad sweetened but it didn't matter at all. Great recipe!