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Here is a delightful spin on a fall favorite—cranberry sauce. The cranberries are cooked in Pinot Noir and spiced with curry, ginger, fennel seeds, and other spices.
A Simply Recipes reader shared this Epicurious recipe with me, which so sounded intriguing, we just had to try it!
I reduced the sugar and the curry powder a bit and the cranberry sauce came out beautifully—sweet, but not too sweet, seeped in the flavor of a good Pinot Noir, and enlivened with a rich blend of spices.
I highly recommend it if you would like to stretch a bit beyond the standard cranberry sauce.
Spicy Cranberry Sauce with Pinot Noir Recipe
Chinese 5-spice is a common spice mix for Chinese cooking. If you can't find it, we've included directions on how to make your own.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries (about 8 ounces)
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
- 2 cups Pinot Noir or other dry red wine
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons chopped crystallized ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
- Large pinch of Chinese five-spice powder*
Method
1 Heat oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add cranberries and fresh ginger; stir until cranberries begin to burst, 3-5 minutes.
2 Add wine and sugar; boil until mixture is reduced to 2 1/2 cups, about 15 minutes.
3 Add crystallized ginger, curry powder and five-spice powder.
Serve sauce cold or warm.
*How to make your own Chinese five-spice powder
Chinese five-spice powder Ingredients:
1 teaspoon peppercorns
4 star anise
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoon ground fennel seeds
Method:
In a dry skillet, roast peppercorns by shaking the pan over low to medium heat until the aroma of the peppercorns is released (about three minutes). Grind the roasted peppercorns and 4 star anise in a blender or pepper mill. Mix in ground cloves, ground cinnamon, and ground fennel seeds. Grind the seasonings until very fine. Store in an airtight container.
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Elise Bauer is the founder of Simply Recipes. Elise launched Simply Recipes in 2003 as a way to keep track of her family's recipes, and along the way grew it into one of the most popular cooking websites in the world. Elise is dedicated to helping home cooks be successful in the kitchen. Elise is a graduate of Stanford University, and lives in Sacramento, California.
Spicy Cranberry Sauce with Pinot Noir
Wondering….can this be canned like you do jam?
Hi, Helen! We haven’t tried canning this one, so can’t say for sure. I’d recommend looking up other cranberry sauce recipes that provide canning instructions and working back from there. Good luck!
Thanks Emma
This recipe is fantastic. After serving it warm on Thanksgiving, I spread it cold on leftover Turkey sandwiches
This the second year making this for Thanksgiving and everyone thought it was a excellent twist on the usual cranberry sauce
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Allison, this cranberry sauce went really well with a veg shepherds pie (lentils or tvp or veggie ground round instead of hamburger). Another way to serve it would be with a casserole of cooked yam/sweet potato pureed with some olive oil and lemon juice, sprinkle it with some pecans or walnuts and maybe some bread crumbs. Bake at 350F for 1/2 hour.
This sounds wonderful. It’s a brisk fall day and I can’t think of a better way to use the last of the Pinot I have on my counter. Any suggestions for a vegetarian dish to serve it with?
Gosh Allison, your guess is as good as mine. ~Elise
Try grilled tofu; maybe marinate it in some soy sauce and fresh grated ginger?