I can't even really call this a draft. It's barely anything at the moment. But here it is, a beginning, and maybe something like a conclusion.
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The sounds of simmering coming from the pot on the stove are a welcome, restful sound. It is a sound that recalls a mother's (or father's) cooking dinner, holiday gatherings, the communion of friends and family. This recipe, for Chai-Spiced Stone-Fruit Chutney, is not one that appears in my family's repertoire. Time alone will tell if it becomes a part of mine.
The time is long past when recipes were learned solely by watching and learning from a parent - a mother, most likely. This recipe came from a cookbook, Five Ingredients of Less, which is not unusual. Cookbooks have been around for ages, and in widely published forms for over a century. But this cookbook is based not on any family collection or cultural adaptation, but on a program of the same name that airs on the Food Network.
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Finished, the chutney smells spicy sweet. It thickens as it cooks, and the little remaining juice becomes like jelly around the chopped fruit. It tastes much like it smells: spiced from the chai tea, slightly sour and tart from cherries and pomegranate juice, and sweet from the apricots. Paired with a leftover roasted chicken, it revitalizes the dish. It breathes new life into the meat, warming it in a way the oven can't even match.
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