Recent polls show that cranberry sauce is the least favorite of traditional Thanksgiving sides. It makes sense because cranberry sauce was originally intended to balance the fatty meat dishes. People are eating healthier now, so the cranberry sauce is almost forgotten.
That’s too bad because the cranberry is probably the healthiest thing on the holiday menu!
Try cranberries with orange and apple to tone down the tartness. Jalapeño can add a little welcome heat.
Blend some cranberry to make a pureé and use it with sparkling soda water. Add your favorite alcohol if you like, to make a refreshing holiday drink.
Don’t rule it out just yet. Cranberries are probably the healthiest thing on your holiday table!
Find a way to incorporate some into other meals to offset the typical high fat – hi carb meal.
Not into sauce? Try my cranberry bread!
This recipe is an easy start!
Cranberry-Orange Relish
Ingredients
- 1 Pound Fresh Cranberries
- 1 Whole Organic Orange
- 1 TBSP Pureed ginger Optional
- 3.2 OZ Unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 Cup Orange Juice Reserve 2 TBSP
- 1/2 Cup Organic Cane Sugar Or Sweetener of Choice
- 1 TSP Organic Corn Starch, Kuzu root or Agar Agar See Notes
- 1/4 TSP Himalayan Salt
Instructions
- Wash cranberries and place them in a blender
- Zest the orange and set aside. Peel the orange over a bowl and remove the seeds.
- Place the orange, cranberries and ginger in a blender or food processor and add all but 2 TBSP of orange juice. Pulse about 5 times to chop.
- Make a slurry using the starch of your choice and 2 TBSP orange juice.
- Pour blender ingredients to a sauce pan and add applesauce and sugar. Put on medium heat and stir to keep fruit from burning as needed. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Add in starch slurry and cook another 5 minutes.
- Add the zest once the cooking is complete,Put the sauce in a straight sided jar if you are making gelled cranberry sauce.
Notes
This is a Snap Pea Sheep Recipe
Corn starch and kuzu root work the same and will simply thicken the juice of your relish. Agar Agar will set more like a gelatin.
All three of these starches could be added to the blender but I opted for a slurry to be added to the last five minutes of cooking time so part of the cranberry relish could be set aside for my cranberry-orange nut bread.
All three starches require 5 minutes of heat to thicken but the Agar Agar will not start thickening until it cools.
AlternativesTry adding chopped serrano or jalapeno after it is cooked.
If you want more of a relish and no gel, the relish can be served raw. A slurry is a small amount of liquid added to a dry ingredient to liquify it before adding it to more liquid. It makes it easier to mix without lumps. Always add starches to COLD liquid.
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