Best ever cranberry relish

I spent Thanksgiving in Los Angeles this year. It was lovely: the people, the food, the weather. The weather! A bit cooler than usual, Southern California's sunny skies were still a nice change from the truly cold temperatures back home. I helped with the food, but I simply followed someone else's recipes. Everything was good, but one thing was missing — Jasper White's Cranberry Relish.


Cranberry sauce made an appearance on the Thanksgiving table and it was very,very good, but it lacked the caramelized sugar, fresh ginger and white pepper that make Jasper White's zesty version my hands down favorite. It's graced my own Thanksgiving table annually since I first discovered the recipe in White's outstanding book, Cooking From New England (out of print, but worth searching for).

When I landed at RDU, my mind turned immediately to the bags of cranberries I'd purchased before the holiday and stashed in the freezer. Happily I had all of the necessary ingredients in the fridge and pantry, so pulling it together took just a few minutes. This relish is good enough to eat straight out of the pan, but I saved most of it for turkey-cranberry sandwiches.

I eyeball my ingredients, and probably add more lemon juice, white pepper and ginger than called for in the recipe that follows. Taste and adjust quantities as you see fit, but trust me, this is close to perfect.

Cranberry Relish
Adapted from Cooking From New England
Makes about 3 cups

2 oranges
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, julienned
1 12-oz. bag cranberries, fresh or frozen
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

Finely grate the zest of one orange and set aside. Squeeze the juice from both oranges into a small bowl.

Combine the sugar and freshly squeezed lemon juice into a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook until the sugar begins to turn a light brown, washing down the sides of the pan with a little water if needed to prevent burning.

When the sugar is caramelized, add the julienned ginger and orange zest. Continue to cook for about 1 minute. Add the cranberries, orange juice, and white pepper. Increase the heat to medium-heat and continue to cook, stirring frequently, for 5-7 minutes, until the berries pop and are broken but not mushy. Remove from the heat and cool.

Romesco to the rescue

Saturday was hot. Crazy hot. Sweltering, blazing, go-inside-before-you-melt hot. With a heat index of 108 degrees Fahrenheit, it was a good day to get things done early. I'd dealt with the dog and completed my shopping at the Raleigh farmers' market (30 miles away) by 8:30 a.m. It was also a day for egg cookery experiments — I tried to cook an egg on my back deck. Really. It was very much a runny-yolked, sunny-side-up sort of egg, but the heat got to it. And to me.

It was not a good day to turn on the oven. I did anyway, as I'd invited my friends Mo and Doris to dinner, but after roasting tomatoes and garlic for romesco sauce, I turned the oven dial to off. The evening's entree, freshly caught mullet from Core Sound Seafood, was going on the grill. As the air conditioner struggled to keep up with record temperatures, any additional cooking would have to take place outdoors.

Spanish cuisine was at the forefront of my brain, having fried a batch of Padron peppers earlier in the week. When I worked at Rialto restaurant in Cambridge years ago, the menu included items inspired by France and Spain, as well as Italy. Chef Jody Adams has gone virtually all-Italian these days, but it was there that I learned to make a delicious seafood paella, as well as a mean romesco sauce.

I hadn't cooked mullet before, and though I had a general sense of its flavor, I wasn't sure what would compliment it. Enter romesco, a terrific jack-of-all-trades sauce that goes with most anything.  I've served it with other fish, shellfish, meat, veggies, and perhaps best of all, smeared it on grilled bread. Though easy to prepare, romesco's taste is complex. It features tart-yet-sweet roasted garlic, tomatoes, and peppers; vinegar's acidity; the coarse texture and full flavor of almonds.

Romesco paired nicely with the fish, and grilled slices of ciabatta went quickly when spread with sauce. The mullet was fabulous, the corn soup was outrageously sweet, and glorious peaches (sliced, served without adornment) were the perfect dessert.

The next time you're unsure of what to serve with grilled just-about-anything, consider romesco.

Romesco Sauce
Makes about 3 cups

4 ripe tomatoes, cored
1 very large head garlic (I used elephant garlic, supplied by my CSA)
1 red bell pepper
1 cup blanched almonds
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 slice white bread

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Core the tomatoes and cut them in half. Place them in a roasting pan with the head of garlic, also cut in half. Toss with a few tablespoons of olive oil, then sprinkle with kosher salt and roast for 45 minutes - 1 hour, until caramelized.

Blacken the red pepper over a gas range (place on top of a lit burner, turning with tongs until charred throughout), on a grill, or in the oven. While still warm, put it in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to cool, then peel and remove seeds.

Toast the almonds in a dry skillet over low-medium heat on the range. They will smell nutty and brown slightly when they're ready, about 5-7 minutes. Set aside to cool.

When the tomatoes and garlic are done, allow to cool, then remove the skins. Put them in a food processor with the roasted red pepper and toasted almonds. With the machine running, slowly add the extra virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar. The sauce should be thick, the almonds giving it a coarse texture. Add the bread and process. Taste for seasoning, adding salt, vinegar, or olive oil as necessary.

Romesco sauce will keep in the refrigerator for about one week.

Jammin'

Heirloom tomatoes seemed to reproduce on my kitchen countertop this week. Between the entire contents of a CSA produce box (normally split with a friend who's out of town) and a boxful of tomatoes from a client's garden, supply far exceeded demand. Cherokees, green zebras and German Johnsons graced fresh green salads, topped pizzas, and played a starring role in homemade soup. Sliced, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, and sprinkled with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, the ripe, fragrant fruits helped make the summer heat (almost) bearable. But eating them at breakfast, lunch and dinner wasn't enough.

It was time for tomato-onion jam.

This isn't a jam in the traditional sense. Thick and rich, it's summer tomato intensified, made even better with caramelized onion, garlic and spices. More traditional tomato jam recipes exist — they often include much more sugar and are processed in a boiling-water bath, which means they'll last up to a year.

Tomato-onion jam is a seasonal favorite, though I don't stick to a particular recipe each year. I look to my pantry, consider what flavors I'm craving, and go from there. Last night's version featured the heat of hot red pepper flakes, ginger's zing, and the earthy goodness of caramelized garlic and onion. I'm going to enjoy a spoonful with roasted chicken (served room temperature in this latest heat wave) and a spinach salad for dinner.

Smear tomato-onion jam on bread and serve with cheese, use it with roasted or grilled meats and poultry, or make it part of a sandwich. It's also pretty terrific consumed directly from the jar (this is allowed if you live alone). Consider adding ground cumin seed, cardamom, or a freshly chopped jalapeno or serrano pepper to the recipe. Make it your own.


Tomato-Onion Jam
Makes about 3 heaping cups

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 red onion, diced
1 large shallot, diced
5 garlic cloves, minced
6 medium ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/8 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon freshly ground cumin
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper

To peel tomatoes: Make a small "x" on the bottom of each tomato. Drop into boiling water for 30 seconds, remove, then plunge into an ice water bath. The skin will slip off easily, pulled from the flesh with a paring knife.

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion, shallot, garlic and cook over low for about 20 minutes, with the pan covered. When the vegetables are soft, remove the lid and allow the vegetables to caramelize over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. This will take another 15-20 minutes. Add peeled, roughly chopped tomatoes, red wine vinegar, hot red pepper flakes, cumin, ginger, kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens, about 15 minutes. Taste and correct seasonings as necessary.

Tomato-onion jam will keep, covered, in the refrigerator for about one week.

Green 'maters

I fell for the green tomatoes. Perched next to their red hothouse relations on a vendor's table, firm, somewhat tart, and close to the color of lime, they called out to me. Green tomatoes are often available in late spring or early summer in North Carolina, and again in late fall, when farmers and gardeners harvest the unripened fruit before it can be damaged by frost. At the height of summer, vine ripened beauties take over, so you buy green tomatoes when you see them, like I did at the farmer's market Sunday afternoon.

Driving home after a great evening with friends, I pulled into the Piedmont Triad Farmers' Market for a quick look around. Green tomatoes (and a few peaches) caught my eye, and I returned to Chapel Hill with visions of fried green tomatoes, green tomato relish, and green tomato pie. In the end, I made none of those. Instead I opted for pickled green tomatoes.

I'll pickle just about anything. Pickled turnips, pickled okra, pickled pumpkin — something is ready any time of year for pickling. I adore the crisp zing and complex flavor pickles provide. They can be sweet, sour, spicy, curried. Imagination takes over, and it's great fun to experiment. I went with a quick refrigerator pickle this time. Unlike their canned counterparts, quick pickles last only a couple of weeks chilled (there's no sterilizing of jars, no boiling-water processing), but it's easy to go through a small batch. They're terrific snacks and incredible counterparts to grilled meats. Give me a pickle platter any day.

I improvised this recipe. Feel free to adjust ingredients or add new ones to taste. Adding a hint of sugar, as I did, isn't required, but I think it evens out the flavor. If you don't like your pickles spicy, skip the hot red pepper flakes. Add celery seed or coriander — experiment.

If you don't have green tomatoes, try onions, young turnips or daikon this time of year. For a classic dill pickle flavor, use a handful of dill fronds and leave out the sugar, mustard seed and bay leaves.



Green Tomato Pickles
This makes enough brine for 2 pounds of vegetables

2 pounds green tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch wedges

6 cups water
1 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup kosher salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes or 2 dried red chile peppers
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
6 garlic cloves, smashed
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
several sprigs of fresh thyme

Cut the green tomatoes into 1/2-inch wedges and place in a heatproof container, like Pyrex.

Combine the remaining ingredients in a large saucepan or pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Pour over the prepared tomatoes in a heatproof container. Cool to room temperature (about 1 1/2 hours), cover, and refrigerate in a non-reactive container.

These pickles must be stored in the refrigerator and will last about 2 weeks.

Rhubarb becomes chutney

How many desserts can one person eat?

In my case the answer is rather scary, so I opted to make both sweet and savory dishes with the farmer's market bounty I hauled back from Charleston.

Rhubarb is a beautiful vegetable (though it's treated like fruit). The tall, elegant stalks with their bright rosy hue stand out among the produce stand's other offerings. Green rhubarb is equally good, but harder to find — it can be used interchangeably with it's more attractive relative. Though beautiful, rhubarb leaves are toxic, so be sure to remove them before cooking. Some cookbook authors advise you to trim the outer layer of rhubarb prior to cooking, but I've found that's only necessary if the stalks are old and fibrous, usually late in the season.

First up on the rhubarb roster: chutney. Chutneys can accompany a wide variety of foods, but I think they have a particular affinity for grilled or roasted pork, so I pulled two Brinkley Farms chops from my freezer, marinated them with garlic and thyme, invited a friend to dinner the following night (a celebration — she's done with nursing school final exams!), and set to work. I'll serve the chutney alongside the grilled meat, saute some garlicky greens, and end the meal with a strawberry-rhubarb galette.

The chutney recipe that follows is based on flavors I like — rhubarb, ginger and orange are a terrific combo — and what was available in my pantry. If I'd had any fresh hot peppers around (jalapeno, serrano) they would have made it into the pot.

Sweet and Spicy Rhubarb Chutney

1 red onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons ginger, minced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 teaspoons coriander seed
2 teaspoons cumin seed
3 teaspoons HRPF (hot red pepper flakes) or to taste
1 1/4 cups cider vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
zest of one orange
4 cups of rhubarb, diced
6 tablespoons mint, chopped
3 tablespoons of a neutral cooking oil, like canola

Toast the coriander and cumin seed in a dry pan over medium heat, shaking occasionally to prevent burning. When the seeds are fragrant (this will take about 4 minutes), remove the pan from the heat and allow the spices to cool. Grind them in a spice grinder or coffee grinder devoted only to spices, or use a mortar and pestle.

Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Sweat the onion, garlic, ginger and red pepper in a medium until softened, 5-7 minutes. Add the ground spices, HRPF, cider vinegar, and sugar. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Add rhubarb and orange zest, and continue cooking until the mixture thickens slightly, about 20-25 minutes. Taste for seasoning. Off the heat, add freshly chopped mint.

This chutney will keep, covered and refrigerated, for a week. Leftovers make a great addition to sandwiches, or could be used in a pinch for quick hors d'oeuvres: top table water crackers with thin smear of cream cheese, a spoonful of chutney, and garnish with a mint leaf.

Sweet and Spicy Rhubarb Chutney will also hold in the freezer for about a month.