Apple beet chutney

Apple-beet chutney

An appropriately fall-ish recipe adapted from “Ad Hoc at Home” by Thomas Keller.

Ingredients

1 pound small to medium beets (use a mix of colors if available)

4 medium apples

½ cup apple juice

¼ cup cider vinegar

½ teaspoon whole-grain mustard

½ teaspoon honey Dijon

1 large tarragon sprig, leaves chopped

Sea salt or other coarse, flaky salt

Method

Scrub beets. Place in roasting pan. Drizzle with some olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Pour water to a depth of at least ¼ inch in the bottom of the pan. Cover with tin foil. Roast at 400 degrees for anywhere from 50 minutes to 1 hour and 20 minutes depending on beet size, or until a fork can be inserted. When beets are cool enough to handle, take off the skins. Cut into ½-inch dice.

Peel and core apples. Cut into ½-inch dice. Combine apples, juice and vinegar in a saucepan. Simmer until apples are crisp-tender, probably less than 10 minutes. (It’s OK to have some liquid left, so don’t try to boil it off.)

Combine beets, apple mixture, mustards and tarragon. You can use it right away or let the flavors blend for up to a week, although the beets may discolor the apples the longer it sets. Serve sprinkled with sea salt flakes.

Rating: This goes well with pork or chicken, and it’s a fast enough fix if you roast the beets in advance.