November 17, 2010

Kickin' Cranberries!

Pom-Apple Cranberry Relish.


Adding a simple twist to classic dishes can really give your Thanksgiving meal an appealing BOOST! Take cranberry sauce for instance... As a little girl I remember it being something that slide out of a can in a jiggling gelatinous mass (sorry mom for tattling). On a good year, whole cranberries were simmered on the stove to create a flavorful, yet mushy jelly.

But why do cranberries have to be cooked down to preserve consistency? Yeah they're hard and tart, but they are also little balls of potential (and antioxidants if not cooked away) just waiting to be discovered. One thing I've learned is that it's DANGEROUS to get in the way of potential!


So stand back--Here is a brilliantly perky cranberry relish with deep and bright flavors. The raw cranberry pieces, diced apple, and pomegranate arils offer pop and crisp texture, while the pomegranate syrup provides rich depth and sweetness! How much crunch or depth is completely up to you. If you want a bold tangy relish, make it Thanksgiving morning. For a saturated, toned-down cranberry relish make it a few days ahead.

Either way, it's amazing! I ate 90% of this relish by myself! Half on the first day, while it was nice and POPPY, and the rest a couple days later with a chicken salad. Truth be told, most of it was eaten out of the plastic container as I stood with the refrigerator door open. It's good stuff...


Pom-Apple Cranberry Relish

2 cups pomegranate juice
1/2 cup sugar
1 12-ounce bag fresh cranberries
1 medium crisp apple, peeled, cored, diced
1 cup pomegranate arils (seeds)
1 teaspoons orange zest
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint (or parsley)

Simmer the pomegranate juice and sugar until it reduces to less than half, and a thin syrupy consistency is reached—about 15 minutes. (Thin like pure maple syrup.)


Meanwhile, using a food processor, coarsely chop the cranberries.


Pour them into a medium bowl and add the pomegranate syrup. It’s ok if it’s still warm.


Add the diced apple, pomegranate arils, orange zest salt and mint. Mix well.


Eat right away or chill for up to a week. Makes about 4 cups.


If you are still on the lookout for Thanksgiving recipes, here are some interesting dishes from my recipe box that would make your holiday meal memorable!




Pom-Apple Cranberry Relish on Foodista

41 comments:

  1. Oo! I far prefer this than regular cranberry sauce.

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  2. What a wonderful idea. Great twist, I'm with Belinda- much more preferable than cranberry sauce!
    Cheers~

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  3. I definitely prefer fresh cranberries in salsas more than the jelly preservative. The pomegranate seeds are a wild card combination of flavors.

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  4. Great combo of berries and arils. what lovely colors and refreshing snack, app, dessert! Nice to have found your blog!

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  5. This looks really good. Although we do not celebrate Thanksgiving in Greece I am bookmarking it for using it on Christmas.

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  6. Great idea. This looks really good!

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  7. This looks fantastic! I love cranberries apples. I really like the addition of POM juice. It looks very refreshing and flavorful:)

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  8. The Pom-Apple Cranberry Relish sounds amazing! I would have never of thought to add pomegranate arils and the juice to cranberry relish! What a wonderful idea. And such beautiful pictures. :)

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  9. I am definitely going to do this -loving all the tart and then the sweet apple. Can I make it ahead of time?

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  10. Yum, I love healthy deliciousness. This qualifies as healthy deliciousness (smile)! I'm going to try this, Sommer...;)

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  11. I love this cranberry makeover! Looks so fresh and flavourful!

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  12. This is a wonderful recipe, and definitely something that I could handle... other versions of cranberry sauce are a little intimidating but this is fun, flavorful, and I think I want to try this... even if not for my family's Thanksgiving feast (I've already been assigned my dish), as something I serve with dinner one night here at home!

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  13. Ooh I love all the cranberry recipes and with POM juice? even better!

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  14. Fantastic idea, love this...
    I would probably have to make it right before we ate to prevent me from eating it all ;)

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  15. Looks so good- we grind up fresh cranberries, oranges and pecans and add them to cranberry jello. I don't eat much jello but that one dish I like so I think this would be a great addition to the spread.

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  16. What a bright and delicious looking relish, and good for you too.

    I’d love for you to submit some of your beautiful photos, and a link to your posts, to my vegetarian food photo gallery showcasing the best vegetarian/vegan dishes on the web.

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  17. Hi Sommer, Thanks for your sweet words in my site, you are really a doll. I'm all for updating classics, the relish looks fantastic. And kept all the goodies. (antioxidants). :-)

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  18. great relish Sommer, straight from the fridge..very nigella..lol

    sweetlife

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  19. hey they look sooo good and really simple to make! and hope u have a great thanksgiving!

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  20. Wow! I would have never thought to do this...but I'm sure the flavors are just amazing! I adore pomegranates and who doesn't love cranberries during the winter months? Thank you for sharing, dear. I hope you have a wonderful Friday!

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  21. Looks yummy. Love the mix of cranberry and pom.

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  22. This is an excellent relish with the combination of cranberries, apples, and pomegranates, such lovely bright flavors, and the crisp texture is terrific!

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  23. That almost looks like a salsa...it's just gorgeous.

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  24. That combination is awesome! What gorgeous flavors.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  25. I'm loving all these pom recipes. In Italy I never really used pomegranate, pomegranate juice or syrup for baking so I'm learning a lot!

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  26. Very nice relish idea, will be lovely with my turkey next weekend, thanks.

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  27. That's a fresh, exciting way to use cranberries. It really pops and the pomegranate arils will give it a nice crunch. I just posted something with pomegranate too :)

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  28. i am FORCING my boyfriend to make this for our pre-thanksgiving feast! he loves cranberry sauce and that is his only assignment. looks perfect sommer!

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  29. Love that you used raw cranberries here. It's so rare to find a dish with them whole and raw. Yum!

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  30. The relish sounds fantastic!

    I notice you have the foodielio.us ad at the bottom of your posts. Did you have trouble getting it to work? I cannot seem to. Have they been reliable about paying you?

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  31. Gorgeous, Sommer! I love the idea of a crunchy cranberry relish - we've been eating loads of pomegranates here lately, so what a unique and interesting switch up. I always make the same cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving each year - my mom's old recipe with plenty of spice and plenty of booze! XO

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  32. I was never into cranberry sauce, but this looks so fresh and tasty, I'd totally want to try it.
    *kisses* HH

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  33. The colour itself is incredible! the health factor is wonderul and i am sure the taste perfect! YUMM!

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  34. Hi Sommer
    what a perfect relish!! I love the addition of pomegranates, I have two on my counter right now!!
    thanks so much for such a lovely dish , I will be adding it to my Thanksgiving table!
    Dennis

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  35. Wow! This is really kickin' cranberry sauce up a few notches!! Looks absolutely gorgeous Sommer :)

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  36. Yum what a great dish - I will have to try this for thanksgiving. Thanks!

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  37. You're too funny - I also knew cranberry sauce to be a gelatinous mass the shape of a can ;) You've really kicked it up by adding apples and pomegranate - thanks for sharing it with us!

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  38. I never made cranberry sauce before, always came from a can, but yours is really tempting and so easy to make.
    an award is waiting for you on my blog

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  39. This looks so much better than just regular cranberry sauce (especially the type from the can!).

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  40. Looks delish! I cooked my cranberries with my pomegranate juice. It's neat to see all the different recipes the POM Party hosts came up with!

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  41. Sweet!

    I used to make the recipe on the back of the bag of fresh cranberries and one day I decided to add a minced habanero chile. AWESOME! The habanero's fruity taste, aroma and heat are a perfect foil to the sweetness of any cranberry sauce or relish.

    Another great cranberry recipe I recently discovered was for an Indian pickles made with cranberries, jalapeno chiles, and carrots. It uses "pickle masala", a spice mix that can be purchased from Indian grocers or online (it's pretty cheap).

    The recipe can be found at a site called "Show Me The Curry" which is also the name of their Youtube account.

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