It is that time of year again.
Time to make the cranberry relish.
And not just any cranberry relish, no sirree.
This is Julia Child’s recipe (well… ok… except for the Cointreau I’ve taken to adding of late) from Parade magazine some 30 odd years ago.
Last year, I cut the recipe down because, well, it makes a lot of cranberry relish.
This year, I embraced the cranberry goodness and packed it all into jars to share with friends this holiday season.
Note: I did not process the cranberry relish, so this stuff needs to be kept in the fridge until used.
INGREDIENTS
•3 packages fresh cranberries
•3 oranges (plus more, for the juice)
•1 lemon
•2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
•3 cups sugar, divided
•1-1/2 cup orange juice
•Juice of 1 lemon
•1/4 cup Cointreau
Place the cranberries in a colander and rinse well, then pick over, removing any woody stems or crushed berries.
Zest three oranges and one lemon, then pulverize in a food processor with one cup of the sugar.
Place the cranberries with the sugared zest in a large pot along with the grated ginger and the remaining sugar.
Juice and strain the oranges, adding a couple more if you need to, to measure 1-1/2 cups of orange juice, then add to the cranberries in the pot.
Juice and strain the lemon, then add that along with the Cointreau to the pot.
Note: no Cointreau? No problem! You can skip it entirely, or consider using Aperol or Campari, which would add a nice, slightly bitter citrus bite to the relish.
Stir everything together and bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring constantly.
Boil for two or three minutes, until the the berries have burst, then remove from the heat and allow to cool for 30 minutes.
Give it a taste.
Not really sweet, right? That’s a good thing. This is a relish to go along with your turkey, not a jelly to go on toast.
Transfer to storage jars and chill until needed. I ended up with six, 12 ounce jars and one half pint jar – more than enough to enjoy for the holiday season and still be able to share with friends.
You could also, if you had a mind to, convert some of the relish into cranberry chipotle relish for turkey tostadas.
Mmmm.
Turkey tostadas with cranberry chipotle relish.
I am really glad I made the full batch this year.