I never cared much for cranberry sauce until I tried out my grandmother’s suggestion to make a recipe with fresh cranberries. Aside from the brightness of flavors and use of a whole orange for zest, the star of the show was the crystalized ginger. I was an instant convert.
Many years later, upon reading through Amanda Hesser’s NYT Cookbook, I came across a chutney recipe that seemed to contain all of my favorite fall flavors. I decided to tweak it a bit and again make crystalized ginger the star of the show. The result was a lush, bright sauce that served the perfect stand-in for that canned cranberry nonsense.
Ginger Cranberry Chutney
1 bag of fresh cranberries
2 cups of orange juice
1/4 c. of honey
1/4 c. sugar
1 seedless orange, quartered
1 granny smith apple, quartered
2 tsp. of crystalized ginger
1/4 tsp. of ground ginger
1/2 c. of fresh mango chunks (optional)
12 dried apricots
In a medium saucepot, add the cranberries, orange juice, honey and sugar. Cook over medium heat until cranberries pop, about 10 minutes. While the cranberries cook, add the orange, apple, ginger, mango and apricots to a food processor and roughly chop. Add the mixture to the cranberries after they’ve cooked for 10 minutes and continue to cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, adding a little water if the mixture gets too thick. Make sure to watch the pot and stir to prevent it from scorching on the bottom. Once finished cooking, allow the mixture to cool slightly and then transfer to a tupperware. Chill and serve
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