Fresh Cranberry Relish
Photo by: Lucy Alexander
My mother was an Adele Davis devotee so naturally carrot juice and plain yogurt were on the menu most days. The only sugar in the house was kept in the cupboard above the refrigerator. On the rare occasion that she would hire a babysitter and go out, my brother and I got busy fast. Climbing onto the counter in the kitchen trying to reach the sugar wasn’t easy but we were determined. Pouring huge amounts of sugar into our sugarless grape juice made the juice taste absolutely foul, but we pretended it was delicious. The only time that bag of sugar was used was around the holidays—not for mom’s date bars that were flavored with apple juice and were heavy and hard as rocks, but for the cranberry relish. We ate the cranberry relish because it had sugar in it but the raw orange peel made it kind of tart for us kids so we never ate very much of it. As an adult though I love this relish. Not only for the tartness the whole orange gives it, but also the unusual and very satisfying texture and taste compared to the cranberry sauce you usually see on the holiday table.
The story goes that my mother found this recipe on the back of the bag of cranberries. But no one I know is familiar with this relish, unless they have had Thanksgiving dinner at our house. Not only is it easy to make (no cooking involved), but it is an absolute must on your turkey sandwich later in the day.
NOTE: Timing is important here. You must make this at least a day ahead, two days is better. This relish only takes about 15 minutes to make but you have to let it macerate in the fridge for a couple days, which brings out the juices and color of the cranberries.
Ingredients:
1 bag of fresh cranberries
1 large unpeeled orange
3/4 cups granulated sugar
Rinse the cranberries in a colander and pick out and compost the overripe berries. Wash the navel orange—do not peel. Cut it in half, then in quarters, and then cut the quarters in half. Place both the berries and the oranges slices in a food processor and pulse about 15 times. You want the fruit to have the consistency of pickle relish. Using a spatula, scrape the chopped fruit into a large bowl and add the sugar. Stir to incorporate the sugar. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. You can eat it right away but it is better a day or even two later. I usually double this recipe so that when I give everyone some leftovers to take home they have some relish too for sandwiches. You can be make this up to two days ahead and it lasts for at least a week, but I am sure it will be long gone anyway so don’t worry.
Photo by: Claudia Alexander