Folk who know me also know that I have been making Julia Child’s Cranberry Relish at the holidays for about 30 years.
I’ve taken a few detours from time to time; cranberry-chipotle relish is a truly good thing with turkey tostadas, and cranberry happiness bars make for a tasty dessert treat, but I’ve always thought of the diminutive red berry as a late fall/early-ish wintertime table staple.
Not so much anymore.
Necessity being the mother of invention, I have now discovered a cranberry relish that would go perfectly with an Easter ham – or, as I plan on using it; rolled into a flour tortilla with some smoked turkey, cream cheese, and watercress as a cocktail nibble for an afternoon cocktail party at which I’m helping out some friends.
The necessity? Soul Rolls – or, to be more specific, their lovely dipping sauces.
See, I was left with two cans of fruit – one peach and one pineapple – after taking the syrup for the sauces.
What to do?
Well, thanks to da Google, a Ms. Donna Brockett of Oklahoma, and the nice folk at allrecipes.com, I had a solution.
INGREDIENTS
•2 (12 oz) pkg fresh or frozen cranberries
•1-1/2 cup sugar
•1 cup orange juice
– I used orange-peach-mango juice
•1 can sliced peaches, drained
•1 can pineapple tidbits, drained
•1 cup chopped pecans
•1/2 cup golden raisins
•I also added 1 tsp freshly minced ginger
Stir the cranberries together with the sugar, fresh ginger, and orange juice in a large pot on top of the stove and bring to a boil, stirring every now and then.
Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until the berries burst – 8 to 10 minutes.
Stir in the peaches, pineapple, pecans and raisins and set aside to cool.
Transfer to another container, cover, and chill at least overnight. Don’t worry if the relish looks a bit soupy – it’ll firm up nicely in the fridge.
Truly, a relish for all seasons…