Quick and Easy – Reduced Sugar Cranberry Relish

Are you looking for a quick and easy side dish for your Thanksgiving feast this year? I’ve got you covered with this reduced sugar cranberry relish! The relish is loaded with fresh cranberries, apple, pear, orange juice and zest with cinnamon and ginger. The relish has only 1/4 cup sugar and some fresh rosemary to balance out the tartness of the berries. Plus, it all comes together in under 10 minutes! You might need to double the recipe since people will be asking for seconds.

Cranberry Relish vs. Cranberry Sauce

Cranberry relish and cranberry sauce are both delicious. However, there is a huge difference between the two. Cranberry relish is made from raw ingredients pulsed in the food processor while cranberry sauce is made on the stove top. Cranberry sauce is often much sweeter than relish and has a more liquid consistency. I tend to favor cranberry relish because of the tartness and texture. I enjoy that you can throw in all kinds of delicious ingredients, including celery if you desire, to add some crunch, and the recipe doesn’t need a large amount of refined sugar.

Which do you prefer? This year, I recommend going with relish. While your family is fighting over room in the oven for all of the sides and main dishes, you can pull out the food processor and have this side dish ready in 10 minutes (and then you can go put your feet up or watch football).

Break out the Cranberries!

Equipment Needed:

• All you need is a food processor (the larger the better so that you can throw in everything at once)

Ingredients:

1. 16 oz fresh cranberries – rinsed and dried
2. 1 small Granny Smith apple – cored and diced (skin on)
3. 1 almost ripe Bosc pear – cored and diced (skin on)
4. Zest of 1/2 large orange
5. Juice of 1/2 large orange
6. 1/4 cup granulated sugar
7. 1 tbsp cinnamon
8. 2 tsp grated ginger
9. Pinch of kosher salt
10. 1 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves

*I recommend an “almost ripe” pear so that it has some crunch. It’ll get lost in the mixture if too ripe

Process:

Rinse fresh cranberries in a colander and allow to drain and mostly dry. Remove any mushy cranberries from the bunch. Zest 1/2 of a large orange and slice orange in half. Juice 1/2 of the orange. Remove core and seeds from apple and pear and dice. Remove leaves from rosemary stems. Add the fruit, including orange juice and zest, and rosemary into the food processor. Top with the sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and pinch of kosher salt.

Pulse in food processor until coarsely chopped. Will take a minute or two at most. Check in 30 second increments. Avoid over pulsing. Cranberry relish is meant to be chunky.

Use a spatula to transfer from food processor to bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least an hour prior to serving to allow the juices to blend and flavor to develop even more.