Traditional Cranberry Sauce vs. Cranberry Pomegranate Fresca
Ever since my spontaneous pre-Thanksgiving turkey feast last week, I've had a couple of emails asking about cranberry sauce. I like to make two kinds of cranberry sauce: a cooked traditional cranberry sauce alongside a raw cranberry relish. They're pretty easy and take only a few minutes more than opening a can!
Traditional Cranberry Sauce
The cooked cranberry sauce is made with whole cranberries, flavored with sugar and lemon zest. You can chop some or all of the cranberries for a smoother sauce. You can also leave them all whole - they will pop after 10 minutes of cooking. I don't like it overly sweet, so add more sugar if it's too tart for your taste.
1 12-oz pkg whole cranberries
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
zest of 1/2 lemon
1. Optional: chop some or all the cranberries in a food processor or blender (be careful to pulse and only chop it roughly. Don't blend it into a mushy pulp). I chopped about half of the cranberries and left the rest whole.
2. Add all the ingredients to a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat, simmering for about 10-15 minutes. The sauce will thicken as it cools.
Cranberry Pomegranate Fresca
This raw relish is a tasty contrast to the traditional cooked version. This relish is great with a turkey feast or spooned onto a grilled chicken breast. The pomegranate is the perfect sweet "crunch" in every bite. I love it. If you like it sweeter, sprinkle a little extra sugar. Don't add more lemon curd or it will get too gooey.
1 12 -oz pkg whole cranberries
3 Tbsp Lemon Curd (or substitute 1/3 cup sugar and 1 Tbsp lemon juice)
1/2 cup fresh pomegranate seeds (seeds from half a pomegranate)
1.) Chop the cranberries in a food processor or a blender (be careful to pulse and only chop it roughly).
2.) Add the lemon curd (or sugar and lemon), stirring to distribute evenly.
3.) Stir in the pomegranate seeds.
4.) If using sugar, let it sit for an hour before serving.
Pomegranate seeds! I've got a pomegranate sitting on my counter just waiting for this recipe. I think I'm going to experiment a little and stir them into the traditional cooked recipe after it cools... I'll keep you all posted.
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I make something very similar to the Traditional version, except I use orange juice instead of water. It really adds a lot of flavor.
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I'll have to try the raw relish. My kids love pomegranate seeds, and they even love tart fresh cranberries, so I bet this would really go over well with them.
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I really prefer raw cranberry relish with my turkey. I think the pomegranates are a nice touch. Lemon curd sounds interesting too.
My personal favorite recipe is to throw in an entire orange, peel and all, chopped up with the cranberries for the sweetness and citrus flavors.
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How funny! We still do the canned cranberry sauce...it's just tradition now! Maybe I'll stir some pomegranate seeds into it next year!
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