Crazy about cranberries
Fruit adds flavour and colour to a variety of meals, not just Thanksgiving dinner
This year I made uncooked cranberry relish to go with the turkey for Thanksgiving and enjoyed the fresh, orangey flavour. The recipe I used couldn’t be easier and cooked cranberry sauce is almost as easy to make.
Dayna’s CranberryOrange Relish
adapted from recipe shared by Katherine Schaefer
1 large orange, peeled
1 L (4 cups) cranberries
500 L (2 cups) sugar, or less if preferred Chop peeled orange in food processor and then add cranberries and sugar. Pulse to chop cranberries to desired size. Place in a jar and let stand in refrigerator for a few days before using.
Cranberry season doesn’t end with Thanksgiving dinner. These native berries, grown in specially constructed P.E.I. cranberry bogs, are available now for immediate use and storage.
They can add bright flavour and colour to meals after the last hot turkey sandwich is a distant memory.
Fortunately, cranberries will keep, refrigerated in the bag they are sold in, or in a tightly covered container. How long? Some sources say one week, others say more than 2 months. My experience is predictable: the longer they’re stored in the fridge, the more casualties there are, as berries get soft and have to be discarded.
For longer-term storage, cranberries can be frozen, either in a sturdy freezer bag, or in the original bag sealed inside another plastic bag.
The majority of Islanders, I would speculate, serve cranberry sauce, either homemade or canned, with turkey for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.
Cranberry sauce can enhance other protein dishes, as well, including pork, salmon, and even sautéed tofu cubes. If you have some sauce left in your fridge, give it a try.
Try this twist to add new flavours and colour to traditional beef pot roast.
Festive Cranberry Pot Roast
Adapted from Beef Information Centre: “I Love Canadian Beef”. Touch Wood Editions, Surrey, BC, 2005.
1.5 kg (3 lb) pot roast (beef cross rib, blade or shoulder), trimmed of external fat
15 mL (1 tbsp) vegetable oil 250 mL (1 cup) water 250 mL (1 cup) cranberry sauce 1 orange, juice and grated zest 3 whole cloves Coarse black pepper, to taste
2.5 L (10 cups) vegetables (carrots, onions and potatoes) cut into chunks Heat oil in a heavy 5–6 L Dutch oven, and brown roast on all sides.
Add water, cranberry sauce, orange juice and zest, cloves and black pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and cook for at least 3 hours on stovetop or in a 160 degree C (325 degree F) oven. Add vegetables for last half hour of cooking time. Remove cloves before serving. 10-12 servings
There are many recipes for cranberry muffins and cranberry bread, and others for cranberry pie and squares. I like adding a few handfuls — I don’t measure them — of cranberries to apple crisp for great flavour and pops of lovely red colour.
This cranberry cobbler recipe makes a delicious, not-too-sweet dessert that can be eaten on its own, or topped with vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt, or whipped cream.
Cranberry Cobbler
adapted from Young, Donna and Marg Routledge: “New Maritimes Seasonal Cooking” Nimbus Publishing Ltd., Halifax, 1996.
340 g (12 oz) cranberries, fresh or frozen, approx. 3½ cups (875 mL)
375 mL (1½ cups) water 125 mL (½ cup) sugar Topping: 125 mL (½ cup) All-purpose flour 125 mL (½ cup) whole wheat flour 10 mL (2 tsp) baking powder 50 mL (¼ cup) sugar
25 mL (2 tbsp) canola oil 125 mL (½ cup) raisins 125 mL (½ cup) 1 per cent milk
50 mL (¼ cup) slivered almonds (or chopped walnuts or chopped pecans)
In medium saucepan, combine cranberries, water and sugar. Cook until skins burst, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a 2 L (2 quart) shallow baking dish (20 cm/8” square, or 28 cm x 17 cm/11” x 7”).
To prepare topping, in medium bowl, combine flours, baking powder and sugar. Stir in raisins. Whisk together milk and oil and pour mixture over dry ingr`edients. Stir quickly, only enough to moisten and make a lumpy batter. Drop by large spoonfulls on cranberry mixture. Sprinkle nuts on top.
Bake in 180 degrees C (350 degrees F) oven for 30 minutes, until topping is golden brown and cooked through. Serve warm.
8 servings