cranberry sauce

Cranberry sauce is a great make-ahead for Christmas or Thanksgiving. And home made is a zillion times nicer than the bought stuff. You’ll also use a lot less sugar than anything you can buy. In fact I often use maple syrup for extra flavour and less teeth-aching sweetness.

We love leftover cranberry sauce on grilled cheese, pancakes, oats or stirred into yoghurt.

Ingredients (serves 8) Feel free to double or quadruple the ingredients

300g fresh cranberries left whole

150-200g sugar or maple syrup

Juice and zest of a large orange.

To make:

Bung it all in a saucepan together and cook on a medium heat for about 10 minutes until the cranberries have popped and the sugar has dissolved. Stir every minute or so to check it isn’t catching at the bottom.

Once the texture is right I always add a little more orange zest and a little Maldon salt to balance things out. It will be very liquid when it is hot, don’t worry it will firm up as it cools.

The sauce will keep in a clean jar or bowl for a week in the fridge, or do what I do and make it ahead and freeze it.