Author Notes
You know when someone taps you (or your dog noses you in your knee) to get your attention? My family calls that a zetz. This is a pretty traditional cranberry relish with a few additions - fruit, ginger, orange, cinnamon and black pepper - to get your attention. I started with the original recipe on the cranberry bag (fruit, a cup each of sugar and water), reduced the cooking from two steps to one, and took it from there to here.
The dried fruit thickens this up really nicely, so don't be afraid to take it off the heat while there's still a little bit of liquid. This is one of those recipes where not a lot matters, so feel free to change up the spices or multiply for a big batch.
Use it any way you like - I usually pair it with Greek yogurt or spread it on a sandwich. —jillyp
Ingredients
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1
12 ounce bag fresh whole cranberries
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1/2 cup
diced, dried fruit (I used cranberries today, but I also like cherries and apricots)
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1-2 inch piece
fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
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3-4 inches
orange peel (try not to get too much of the pith)
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1 stick
cinnamon
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6-12
whole black peppercorns
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1 cup
sugar
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1/2 cup
freshly squeezed orange juice (about 1 medium orange - remember that one you got the peel from a moment ago?)
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approx. 1/2 cups
water (to make 1 cup of liquid along with the OJ)
Directions
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In a colander, rinse off the cranberries. Pick out any gross-looking ones, but don't worry if a few look a little bruised - soon it won't matter.
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If you're so inclined (I'm generally not), wrap up the orange peel, ginger and spices in a bouquet garni.
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Add all the ingredients to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil (the cranberries will start to pop). Turn down the heat so that the sauce stays at a mild boil, stirring occasionally until it looks more like a sauce than a potful of ingredients (about 6-10 minutes). It's up to you how thin/thick you like it, but if you let all the liquid cook out, it will be a gelatinous brick.
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Take the sauce off the heat and pour into a container to cool (it will continue to thicken a bit). Remove the cinnamon stick and as much of the orange peel, ginger and peppercorns as you care to.
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