I have been making Cranberry Fig Sauce, courtesy of the ever fabulous Martha Stewart, for somewhere near a decade. It’s incredibly easy, an annual crowd pleaser and puts canned cranberry sauce to shame. Goodbye “sliced” cranberry sauce! I use fresh, Oregon grown cranberries (Try Vincent Family Cranberries) and dry red wine. And I switch off using Calimyrna and Mission figs every other year. This is a really fun recipe to try with the kids because the excitement of hearing the cranberries “pop” is well worth the wait. I usually make it 2-3 days ahead and it tastes even better after sitting for a while.
What You Need:
1 bag fresh or frozen (thawed) cranberries
5 ounces dried Calimyrna figs, halved (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup dry red wine or cranberry juice
Yield: 2 1/2 cups
Fresh cranberries, YUM!
What You Do:
In a small saucepan, combine all the ingredients; cook over low heat until most of the cranberries have burst, about 15 minutes.
Transfer cranberry sauce to a small bowl. Let cool; cover, and refrigerate up to 3 days. Let stand at room temperature, 30 minutes, before serving.
Recipe adapted from the Martha Stewart Living Cookbook, “Annual Recipes 2004.”
Mission figs
I typically double the recipe and keep some on hand for the day after Thanksgiving because usually what’s set at the table doesn’t survive the ravenous eaters at our table. The sauce is really good on sandwiches with turkey and cream cheese.
Simple and oh so tasty. Happy Thanksgiving!
