by Twinkle VanWinkle, Indianapolis Star
There it sits. That jiggly, wiggly gelatinous cylinder, sliced into opaque, maroon circles, haunting your Thanksgiving table.
That’s right, I’m talking cranberry sauce, one that most think is a given for any holiday family gathering. Just chill, slide in the butter knife, plop onto a saucer and you are good to go.
Try something different this year with a fresher, full-flavored cranberry concoction. This twist on a classic recipe will spice up the buffet table for any Turkey Day get-together.
You can serve it with tortilla chips, on top of food or alone.
Cranberry-jalapeño salsa
Yield 3 cups
Ingredients
- 2-1/2 cups fresh cranberries, rinsed
- Zest and juice of one 1 lime
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 medium jalapeño, deseeded and roughly chopped
- 1 Granny Smith or Honey Crisp apple, cored and roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
- 1 tsp. sea salt
If this version just isn’t hot enough for you, you can add more chiles
Instructions
Cook down fresh cranberries, lime juice and honey down for 20 minutes on medium-low heat, then let cool.
Pulse all the ingredients in a food processor until well minced. Store in airtight container in the refrigerator fridge overnight to let the flavors marinate.
Serve cold the next day. Store leftovers in an airtight container for 1 week.
Take note: Once you process the ingredients, it will taste pretty bland. And you’ll probably get hit right in the face with the punch of fresh jalapeño. After recovering from that, you’ll probably think: meh. … But don’t worry. By storing the ingredients in an airtight container in the fridge overnight, the juices begin to mingle, the flavors begin to samba, and the taste of this cranberry salsa becomes perfect.
Notes
(Photo: Mykal McEldowney/IndyStar)