Chile Chutney
Last Saturday evening I made a simple chutney to go with a (much too extravagant) salmon fillet. At the time I thought it was okay, perhaps a little sharp around the edges. We broke it out again this weekend, however, and the week in the fridge found it much improved—so much so that K asked me to make it again. That, however, is proving a little bit of a problem since I made the stuff less by premeditation than by taste, and since I was underwhelmed by the sauce at first, I didn’t take the important step of writing down what I had done. Memory tells me that this is it:
| Amount | Ingredient |
|---|---|
| 1 | dried chile pepper |
| 1 c | water, plus more to taste |
| 1 tsp | ground ginger |
| 1 tsp | ground clove |
| salt to taste |
Preparation
Toast the dried chile in a frying pan until it is softened and browned on both sides (or follow whatever method of toasting dried chiles you usually use). Then, soak the chile in a cup of water. After 15 minutes or so, remove the seeds and stem from the pepper and put the pepper flesh, water, ground ginger, and ground clove in a food processor. Process the shit out of that stuff; it should become a dark red paste. Add salt and, if desired, more water to taste.
