Trace it all the way back to the first Thanksgiving, where Native Americans are thought to have shared this North American berry with the Pilgrims, but few holiday tables have been complete without a cranberry jelly, jam, relish, port, or sauce since then. Over the last half-century, this humble berry has been making Thanksgiving appearances mainly in jelly form from a can – sluuurrpped onto a fancy plate all rigid, wiggly and slippery. Some people love it, some hate it, but that’s a debate up for another day.
This Thanksgiving, take cranberries back to their more native and respected roots with this fresh and super simple sauce. Really as easy as simmering the berries with some liquid and a sweetener, I take mine up a notch by adding some citrus, spices, and herbs. I like my sauce a tad tarter on the sweet-tart scale, but you can adjust your sweetener amount to taste. A natural sugar, like a raw organic honey adds a robust sweetness compared to regular table sugar.
Besides providing a festive color to your holiday spread, cranberries are rich in vitamins (C, A, and K), disease-fighting antioxidants and are low in calories. Plus, my version is sure to be less polarizing around the dinner table than that jellied stuff! It’s an incredible complement (and dunking medium) to the classic and savory Thanksgiving staples like turkey, stuffing, and green beans.
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