Jeweled Cranberry Orange Relish
Yield: 10 servings (or approximately 2-1/2 cups without the options)


Ingredients

  • 1 (12-ounce) bag fresh cranberries
  • 1 large navel orange
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • Optional: 1 cup pomegranate arils, 1 1/2 – 2 tablespoons orange liqueur (like triple sec, Grand Marnier, or Cointreau)

Instructions

  1. Pick through the cranberries and discard any that are squishy. Place them in the work bowl of a food processor.
  2. Zest the whole orange directly into the food processor. Cut away and discard the remaining orange peel and white pith, and then cut the sections free from membranes. Add the orange sections to the work bowl, but discard the remaining membranes. (If you’re feeling rushed—or want the roughage, as my grandmother called it–you can chop the whole peeled orange.)
  3. Add the sugar to the cranberries, orange sections, and zest, and pulse until finely chopped. You want a fine chop, but take care not to purée the mixture. Remove to a bowl and stir in the optional pomegranate seeds and liqueur.
  4. Cover and refrigerate for several hours, but ideally overnight, to allow the flavors to develop.

Notes

  • The relish can be refrigerated up to 3 days before serving.
  • If you prefer a sweeter relish, you may additional sugar, to taste. However, you might find that you enjoy a hint of tartness, especially after the flavors have had time to meld overnight.
  • I suggest trying the recipe as written the first time, and then experiment with add-ins that sound appealing to you. Possible extras include a small- to medium-size apple (like Gala, Fuji, or Honeycrisp—roughly chop and add to food processor); 1/2 cup or so of finely chopped toasted pecans or walnuts; 1/2 teaspoon or so of vanilla extract; finely chopped crystallized ginger, dates, or dried apricots to taste; one diced Fuyu persimmon; and/or a pinch of cayenne pepper.

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