Fresh Cranberry Salsa

Welcome to Cranberry Week at The Everything Kitchen!

Cranberry sauce is so easy to make for Thanksgiving. In Canada, we have a long wait between our celebration in October and Christmas. In between now and then, those little bags of fresh cranberries wait patiently on the shelves, waiting for the next holiday. What do they do in the in-between time?

I was trying to think of ways to use use fresh cranberries, in the name of good health and because our use of them seems absurdly limited. I’m not one for dried cranberries, just because they are so sugar laden, you might as well have candy instead. But cranberries on their own can be overwhelmingly tart.

I remembered a recipe I saw years ago for a fresh cranberry sauce. I have termed it salsa, because many people identity that with an uncooked sauce, but really, same word, different language. Call it what you want, this sauce is versatile, delicious, and healthy as can be.

It does make more than you can eat at one sitting, so I’ll follow this post with a few more, highlighting all the delicious ways you can use fresh cranberry sauce for everyday occasions. No need to wait until Christmas! (Or American Thanksgiving. For that, you want my Perfect Cranberry Sauce.)

Fresh Cranberry Salsa

Cranberries are for more than turkey. This fresh sauce can be used for every meal of the day. It does not get healthier than this, folks!
Prep Time: 1 minute
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Course: Garnish
Cuisine: American, Canadian
Keyword: #cranberries, #freshcranberries, #freshrawcranberries

Equipment

  • Food processor

Ingredients

  • 1 bag fresh cranberries
  • 1 orange
  • 1 apple
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1 pinch salt

Instructions

  • Chop the orange roughly to make it easier to pulverize.
  • Core and slice the apple. Leave the skin on. We are being healthy here, people!
  • Put the cranberries, orange and apple in the food processor and blitz them together until they from uniform, tiny pieces to make a rough salsa. Open the machine and scrape down the sides to avoid any big chunks. Add honey and a touch of salt and continue.
  • You can leave it slightly rough, as I have here, or break it down until it's almost smooth. Smaller pieces are more versatile and easier to use, but a little texture is still desirable.

Notes

This recipe is great on turkey, chicken or fish. It’s also great as a sandwich spread, used to flavour mayonnaise, good in a tuna or chicken salad. It works in salad dressing, in plain yoghurt or in a smoothie, on top of cheesecake, in baked sweet potatoes, melted in the middle of a brie wheel. Check my blog for more ideas! 
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Published by

Theresa

Tea sommelier, love to cook AND bake. Soups are my go-to comfort food and I rely on an excess of garlic in almost everything but dessert. I review Canadian cookbooks for those who want to know which to gift or buy for your own collection.

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