Ingredients
(use organic and wash everything-I soak the berries in white vinegar and water for 15 minutes before cooking them)
3 cups of cranberries
1 navel or whatever pulpy orange you can find
2 tablespoons of freshly minced ginger or 1.5tbsp of dried ginger
3 cinnamon sticks
3 star anise
5 allspice balls
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
5 cloves
5 cardamon pods
1/3 cup of crushed pecans and walnuts
1/4 cup of bourbon mixed with bergamot tea
1/4 cup of dried sour cherries, dried blueberries, dried golden berries, dried cranberries
pinch black pepper
tiny pinch pink himalayan salt
Soak the spices for 24 hours in the bourbon/tea mix, you can skip the bourbon and use just the tea.
Gently zest the orange creating thin slices of orange skin. I used the whole orange, its loaded with Vitamin C. (The point is to make this potent and medicinal to counteract all the immune weakening effects of the meal) Set aside.
Peel the orange and gently remove the skin from the slices along with any seeds. Set aside.
In a 4qt saucepan place 1 inch of water and slowly simmer the cinnamon, cardamon, star anise, allspice, cloves, and if you're using dried ginger toss that in as well. The idea is to rehydrate the spices and release their essence so that the berries can soak it up. 15 minutes should do it.
Place the cranberries into the pot and let them simmer and pop, keep covered, stirring every once in a while to keep them from burning. You can keep a cup of bergamot tea on the side and ladle some in if you need more liquid. This is a good time to taste the mix to see if it is flavorful enough yet. 10-15 minutes.
When the berries are half popped you can mix in the dried fruits, orange zest, nuts, fresh ginger, and the rest of the bourbon/bergamot. Keep simmering for another ten minutes and/or until it starts to gel. Take a taste and if it's not sweet or spicy enough yet add in pepper, and salt. If its still too tart, you can gradually spoon in some xylitol to taste, or use local honey.
If you like you can add 1/2 a tsp. of pumpkin pie spices and a pinch of cocoa powder, it can bring the whole thing together if the current batch flavor feels too overwhelming or scattered for your palate.
It serves 20 people, and will keep for many months if stored correctly. (see canning instructions here http://localfoods.about.com/od/preparationtips/tp/10-Steps-For-Easy-Home-Canning.htm)
(c) Francesca Prada 2015
