{"id":5010,"date":"2022-11-21T14:50:06","date_gmt":"2022-11-21T20:50:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/?p=5010"},"modified":"2022-11-21T14:50:07","modified_gmt":"2022-11-21T20:50:07","slug":"cranberry-salsa-why-not","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/cranberry-salsa-why-not\/","title":{"rendered":"Cranberry Salsa? Why not?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Instead of cranberry relish, why\nnot cranberry salsa? Every Thanksgiving, my grandmother made cranberry\/orange\nrelish. You know, the recipe from the back of the bag of cranberries? It looked\nbeautiful in her tall, cut-glass compote and added the perfect amount of tartness\nto enhance the savory turkey and cornbread dressing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My family doesn\u2019t like gravy, so\ncranberry relish is what we continue to use to add that little\nsomethin-somethin to our Thanksgiving plates. I serve it in a compote similar\nto my grandmother\u2019s. But this year, I\u2019m making a change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"cranberry<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I found a recipe for cranberry\nsalsa when I was filing last week. I don\u2019t remember printing it out, but there\nit was on my desk. When my sister and I started planning the Thanksgiving menu,\nI picked it up and read it. It\u2019s served with tortilla chips so why not use it\nas an appetizer? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I like to have something for\neveryone to snack on in case I run long getting food on the table. Cranberry\nsalsa seems like a perfect choice because the leftovers can be served with our\nmeal in place of cranberry\/orange relish. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can the family weather a change\nin tradition without being grumpy? I\u2019m pretty sure they can as long as the\nsalsa tastes good. With that in mind, I made some this weekend to see. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s what I combined:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2 jalape<\/em>\u00f1o peppers<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1 twelve-ounce bag of fresh\ncranberries, washed<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1\/3 cup sugar<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1\/4 cup minced green onions<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1\/4 cup finely chopped fresh\ncilantro leaves<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1 tbsp fresh\nsqueezed orange juice               <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1 tbsp fresh squeezed lime\njuice<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remove stem and seeds from\njalape<\/em>\u00f1o\npeppers and finely chop. Set aside. Place cranberries in a food processor or\nfood chopper and pulse until finely chopped. You want small pieces, not a\nsmooth pur<\/em>\u00e9e.\n<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Place chopped cranberries in a\nmedium bowl. Add sugar and stir together. Add jalapeno peppers, green onion, cilantro,\norange juice and lime juice. Stir until well mixed. Cover and refrigerate\novernight. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Serve with tortilla chips<\/em>.*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I served the salsa with\nscoop-shaped tortilla chips. Half of the guests are gluten-free so having an\nappetizer that paired well with corn chips worked great. We had plenty for\ndipping and serving with a meal, plus a little left for later. As far as doing\ndouble-duty as an appetizer and meal accoutrement, we will have plenty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The taste profile of this salsa\nrelies primarily on the sour, bitter flavor of the cranberries tempered by\nsugar. In this sense, it\u2019s not that different from my grandmother\u2019s relish. It\nalso contains some similar orange notes although those are less prominent. The\naddition of green onion, jalapeno, and cilantro will not detract from my\nturkey, dressing, sweet potatoes, green beans, or black-eyed peas. From the\ntaste profile perspective, I can\u2019t see a problem substituting salsa for relish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I love it when a dish can do\ndouble-duty! And I really don\u2019t see any downside of using this salsa in place\nof cranberry\/orange relish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, the decision is made! This\nyear, our cranberries will be presented in the form of salsa! I mean, really,\nwhy not?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Happy Thanksgiving!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Healthy, Easy Gluten-Free Thanksgiving Menu<\/a><\/blockquote>