One of Oregon’s food exports is the cranberry, accounting for about 5% of the nationwide harvest. This year, we bought some local cranberries to make into cranberry sauce. My first time ever. Historically, it was Dad’s job (which he relished a lot) to make the cranberry sauce. His was usually ground up with oranges, sugar and nuts. I always tried some, but never LOVED it. But when I saw Nick post a Roasted Cranberry Sauce recipe, I had to try it. Since I don’t have any Triple Sec around, I modified it a bit, but it turned out great. I made it last night so it could mellow in the fridge overnight before the big day. And I daresay, this is the best cranberry sauce I have ever had. Sorry, Dad.
Roasted Cranberry Sauce with Candied Pecans (Adapted from Macheesmo, where it was pretty heavily adapted from a Bon Appétit recipe)
Makes about 3 Cups, easy to double or triple though.
Cranberries:
- 1 pound fresh cranberries
- 1 Cup sugar
- 3 Tablespoons neutral oil
- 1 Tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced
- 1 Teaspoon fresh thyme, minced (or 1/4 t. dried)
- 1 Teaspoon fresh sage, minced (or 1/8 t. sage powder)
Sauce:
- 1/8 Teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/3 Cup orange juice
- 1/4 Cup sugar
- 1/2 Cup currants (you could sub raisins, but chop them roughly so they aren’t so big)
- Pinch of salt
Pecans:
- 1 Cup pecans, roughly chopped
- 2 Tablespoons water
- 1/4 Cup sugar
Instructions:
- Mix cranberries, oil, 1 C. sugar, and herbs together in a bowl. Roast at 425°F for 20 minutes, stirring after 10 minutes.
- While cranberries are roasting, mix sauce ingredients in a medium sauce pan and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Remove cranberries from oven and add to the sauce pan. Simmer for another 2-3 minutes.
- While simmering the sauce, mix the pecan ingredients and spread on a baking sheet and roast for 8-10 minutes at 425°F.
- Remove nuts from the oven and stir as they cool. Place cooled pecans in an airtight container.
- Chill sauce overnight in fridge. Serve heated or chilled, topped with pecans.