... Cranberry-Pear Relish

What's Thanksgiving without cranberry relish?  Ok, to be honest, I'm not sure that we've ever actually had cranberry relish at our Thanksgiving dinner, but the tradition of it always makes it seem nice.  And, no, I'm definitely not talking about that stuff from the can.  (my apologies if that's your thing...)  So this year I set out to find a tastier version and, thankfully, I did just that.

Cranberry-Pear Relish
serves 6-8

1 small navel orange
1 (12-ounce) bag fresh or frozen cranberries
1 Bartlett pear, cored and cut into large chunks
1/2 cup light brown sugar
pinch kosher salt
3 tablespoons pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped

Wash and dry the orange.  Cut the orange into small wedges, including the peel, and put in a food processor.  Add the cranberries, pear, sugar, and salt.  Pulse until coarsely chopped.  Transfer to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.  Just before serving, stir in the pecans.

Taylor's Notes:
First things first... this makes a lot.  I'm not sure how much a serving technically is, but I doubled the recipe for our Thanksgiving gathering of 25 people and I bet we took down one-quarter of the relish.  Not that it wasn't good, it was!, but most people just don't need that much cranberry relish.


Based on the reviews of the original recipe, I was a little concerned about the bitterness of the orange peel.  Since I was doubling the recipe, I included the orange peel from one of the oranges and removed it from the other.  I really liked the end result, so maybe that's the way to go.  I'm sure it would be great without the peel, too, but I think the bitterness balances the tartness of the cranberries.


I've had leftovers a couple of times and am freezing the rest for Christmas dinner.  I'll let you know how it turns out!


Enjoy!