This Friday marks the first day of spring! Pick up some seasonal rhubarb and use it to make this tangy-sweet chutney. Serve it with goat cheese on crostini or spoon it over pork tenderloin.
Spring feels close, and with it comes the simple pleasures of warmer days: leaving the jacket at home, slipping into maxi skirts and sandals, and wandering through farmers markets filled with fresh produce. Rhubarb is one of those seasonal ingredients that signals spring for many cooks.
Last year I tried rhubarb for the first time and was pleasantly surprised. I had always been a bit wary of unfamiliar foods as a child, but rhubarb won me over. Technically a vegetable, rhubarb is usually used like a fruit. Raw it is tart and astringent, but when cooked it develops a bright sweet-tart flavor that works beautifully in both sweet and savory dishes. It’s low in calories and provides several B vitamins as well as vitamins A and K.
This blackberry-rhubarb chutney balances both sweet and savory notes, making it versatile at any meal. Use it on toast for breakfast, stir a spoonful into brown rice at lunch, or serve it with pork tenderloin for dinner. Stored in an airtight container, the chutney keeps well in the refrigerator for about two months. If fresh rhubarb isn’t available, frozen rhubarb works fine — just add it to the saucepan frozen and allow extra time for the mixture to cook down and thicken.
Blackberry-Rhubarb Chutney and Goat Cheese Crostini
Ingredients
For the rhubarb chutney:
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup packed dark brown sugar
- 2 cups fresh blackberries
- 1 cup thinly sliced rhubarb (about 1 stalk)
- 1 cup thinly sliced celery
- ½ cup chopped red onion
- ½ cup dry red wine
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 clove garlic, grated
For the crostini:
- 1-inch French baguette, sliced about 1/8-inch thick
- Nonstick cooking spray or olive oil
- Fresh goat cheese
- Parsley or chives, for garnish
Instructions
- Combine the chutney ingredients (sugars through the garlic) in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to low and simmer uncovered for 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring frequently, until thick. Remove from heat and let cool.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
- Arrange baguette slices on a baking sheet. Mist lightly with cooking spray or brush with a little olive oil.
- Bake the slices for 5 to 10 minutes, until lightly toasted.
- Spread goat cheese on each crostini, top with a spoonful of chutney, and garnish with parsley or snipped chives.
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Chutney recipe slightly adapted from Cooking Light.