Posting about Pongal, the Tamil festival of thanksgiving, reminded me of a recipe for cranberry relish that I tried out last Thanksgiving. Today I bring that post out from the purgatory known as “Drafts….”
Until recently, I never heard of this thing called cranberry relish. Not that my Thanksgivings growing up followed a traditional menu—sure, there was usually turkey, but often with a second main of tandoori chicken or biriyani. But with our turkey, we almost always had a jelly-like cranberry sauce with just two flavor notes: cranberry and sugar. I assumed that was how everyone ate their cranberries on Thanksgiving Day.
Then I came upon this gem of a recipe in the 2017 Thanksgiving issue of Bon Appetit as I planned a menu for my first Thanksgiving with my in-laws. This cranberry relish has the tang of raw cranberry and a touch of sweetness, and the addition of mustard seeds, fresno chilis, and shallots adds flavors that are common to Indian cooking. These flavors make it an excellent choice for your next South Asian-fusion Thanksgiving dinner—and your non-fusion Thanksgiving dinner, too. I enjoyed the relish with our grilled soda-can Thanksgiving chicken (that’s another post for the future), and imagine it will pair well with a traditional turkey. And my mother-in-law, who is vegetarian, enjoyed the relish as a stand-alone side.
I may never go back to plain old cranberry sauce.
A few notes on this recipe:
- About those dried currants:
- They’re not simply a dried version of fresh red/white currants! Dried currants, aka Zante currants, are actually tiny raisins.
- So if you can’t find dried currants, some kind of dark raisin is probably okay. Or you could just leave them out; previous iterations of this recipe in Bon Appetit did not use any currants.
- I subbed in honey, but the original version of this recipe is vegan, using maple syrup instead.
- Also, I tried cutting down the amount of sweetener since added sugar is added sugar whether you’re using white sugar or honey. But this relish really does need the full three tablespoons of honey to balance the tartness of the raw cranberries. Just remember that you’re probably making this recipe only once a year, anyway. I would recommend leaving out the currants if sugar is a concern, as mentioned above.
- I used black mustard seeds because it ups the Indian flavors of this recipe (Just kidding! Actually, it was the only mustard seed I had. And it tasted great.)
- The relish is best made at least two days ahead of time so that all the flavors have time to meld and everything gets slightly pickled by the vinegar.
- And if you do make the relish ahead of time, don’t forget to stir in the parsley just before serving—it is key for both for taste and presentation.
Savory Cranberry and Walnut Relish
adapted from Bon Appetit magazine
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp black mustard seeds
- 1 medium shallot finely diced
- 1 fresno chili, ribs and seeds removed, finely chopped (use jalapeño if no fresno chilis are available)
- 3 tbsp dried (zante) currants
- 3 tbsp honey
- 3 tbsp sherry vinegar
- ½ tsp ground allspice
- 1/3 tsp table salt
- ½ cup walnuts
- 12 oz fresh or thawed frozen cranberries
- 1/3 cup finely chopped parsley
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Spread walnuts on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Toast in oven for 8-10 minutes, until slightly browned.
- In a small non-stick skillet over medium-low heat, dry toast (no oil!) the mustard seeds until they become fragrant and begin to pop, about 3-4 minutes. Then remove the skillet from heat and mix in the chopped shallot, chopped fresno chili, zante currants, vinegar, honey, and salt. Let mixture cool in pan until currants are plump, at least twenty minutes (but the longer the better).
- In a food processor, combine the cranberries and toasted walnuts. Run the processor in short pulses until the cranberries are coarsely chopped, about five pulses. The aim is for a mixture of chunky pieces of cranberry with a few whole ones scattered through—not a puree!
- Transfer the cranberry-walnut mix to another container and stir in shallot-currant mixture. After mixing, let the mixture sit for at least thirty minutes (and preferably longer—I made mine two days in advance, can be made up to four days in advance. Store it in the fridge. It tastes well chilled).
- Before serving, mix in the chopped parsley. Add more salt to taste if desired.