Maybe you’re weirded out by the strange can shaped stuff you can slice, maybe that’s all you’ve tried, maybe you think cranberry sauce is more at home on some buttered toast than as an accompaniment to your savory delights. Well, prepare to change your perceptions of what a cranberry sauce can be! This version has an intense cranberry flavour and tartness that isn’t mouth-puckeringly over tart and astringent, tempered with some light sweet pear and underscored with aromatic ginger and rosemary, and underlying hints of exotic spices, then the surprise crunch and pop of toasted brown mustard seed provides a nice textural interest and adds some zippy bursts of yum. You’ll want to slather this on all sorts of stuff, i know i do!
Our ingredients start with cranberries (of course) with all their wonderful tartness and astringency, sweet bartlett provides a counterbalance to the cranberries, helping to temper and soften their rough edges and provide some light, almost floral, elements to the sauce. Shallots and garlic bring in some savory elements to keep the dish from turning to the dessert side, ginger adds some zip and really enhances the fruity flavours of the cranberries and the pear. Rosemary adds some lovely resinous, woodsy notes, helping to ground things and bring in some heady top notes, brown sugar for richness and sweetness, and lime zest and juice for citrus elements without adding too much extra acidity. The “curve balls” here are the garam masala, which brings a wonderful spiced quality to the dish, which perfectly complements your savory dishes (especially holiday ones) and toasted mustard seed provides visual and textural interest, little pops and crunches to keep the sauce from being too “meh”, they’re simply heated over medium heat with some oil until they’re popping and nicely toasted, this eliminates the heat from the mustard and tempers their flavour, plus adds wonderful toasty elements to the overall flavour of the sauce.
Everything but the sugar and lime juice, along with some water, get tossed into the pot and cooked until the cranberries and pear are delightfully tender, then mashed up and/or blended along with the juice and sugar and you’re done! Now, you can go ahead and use this right away, but it is much better to make the night before so that the sauce has time to mellow and thicken, plus…it is far better served cold or room temp than hot, which will bring more of the acidity out to play.
I prefer to smash the berries and pear, and then run some of it through the blender (on low so you don’t pulverize your mustard seed), to create an intermediary texture that has both smooth and chunky elements. However you decide you like yours, it IS better to mashed up the pear well, or cut it into smaller pieces initially, so you don’t end up with big soft chunks of pear.
Your sauce will seem relatively thin when you’re done, but again, it thickens as it cools (thanks to the pectin in the fruit) and will end up with a texture that is a heavy sauce (like a really thick rich marinara) and not a jellied relish. If you prefer a thicker sauce you have two option, first, if you prefer chunkier, your best option is to reduce the water in the cooking stage, second, if you prefer a smoother sauce, simply simmer the sauce until thickened (keeping in mind it will thicken further after cooling) and sort of holds it’s shape in the pan when stirred.
This (of course) is excellent served along with your favorite roasts, dressing, etc….but don’t limit it to those or to only holiday season! It’s totally yum on sandwiches, roasted potatoes, sausages….serve it along with brunch items, plop some on some grits…it’s really a delightful sauce to have around all year long. Though i talk about how well it pairs with savory foods, it is also a delicious twist to serve on or with desserts (especially cheesecake and vanilla ice cream) so don’t be afraid to use it when you’re dishing up something sweet and rich, it really adds a wonderful dimension to those.
This will keep a week in the fridge, or you can freeze it for up to 6 months (it may be a tad thinner after defrosting (since the fruit cell walls get busted in the freezing process) so you may want to start with a thicker sauce if you plan on freezing.