I can't remember any other recipe that is so aesthetically pleasing to make. This was my very first try at cranberry sauce and it was not only easy, but also lovely -- gorgeous colors, nice smells, and yummy too. (Don't let the "spiced" throw you. It is much like regular cranberry sauce but with a little warm spice and citrus. The aftertaste is a actually bit softer.)
A twelve ounce bag of fresh cranberries has just under four cups and the recipe calls for three. Knowing we'd have no use for the leftover berries, we added them along with a little extra sugar and water.
First, the fresh cranberries got a shower...
I'd never bought dried figs before. We found sundried Kalamata Crown figs from the Mediterranean and they were packaged in a curious pillow shape. We chopped them into pieces about the size of a cranberry, removing the stems. Sticky! But yummy. (The 14 ounce package is enough for a double batch of sauce with some figs left over.)
And for color appeal, nothing like adding an orange. The kitchen smelled great while I zested the orange and then Eli juiced it.
Into the pot! Now the allspice smell swirled around the kitchen too.
Our recipe said that the berries will pop once the pot heats up. I assumed the skins would soften and the word "pop" was just a visual cue. Instead, I think the insides of the cranberries actually swelled and burst their skins. We could literally hear some of the cranberries pop. We were charmed.
Eli and I nibbled a fresh cranberry to see what it would taste like. The color and flavor is pretty much all in the skin. (In my side of the cranberry we chopped in half, there were tiny seeds in the four inner chambers.)
Simmering...
Simmering...
Soon we had a fragrant pot of sauce as bright as a ruby. Gorgeous!
Ta dah! Our homemade cranberry sauce!
Spiced Figs Cranberry Sauce
¾ cup sugar
½ teaspoon allspice
1 cup water
3 cups fresh (or frozen) cranberries
1 cup dried figs, roughly chopped
1 orange, zested and juiced
In a large saucepan, combine sugar, allspice, and water over medium heat. Stir and simmer until the sugar is dissolved. To the pot, add the cranberries and figs. Increase the heat and bring to a boil. Cook uncovered for 5 minutes, until the cranberries begin to pop. Reduce heat and cook for 20 minutes longer, until thickened. Stir in the orange zest and juice. Set aside until ready to use. Yields 4 cups.
Recipe by The Jewels of New York. This is a creative cooking group. To read more about them and their project, visit their website at www.thejewelsofny.com. Their recipe was featured last year in the magazine Kinfolk: A Guide for Small Gatherings (WeldonOwen Publications), Volume 6 (Autumn 2012). Pg. 30.
For more information about Kinfolk, click HERE.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ONE AND ALL!
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