Cranberry sauce seems to be one of those things that everybody loves to hate. Not me. For me, it’s one of my favourite parts of Christmas dinner, in part, I suppose, because I never have it at any other time of the year.
And while I’m certainly not above eating canned sauce if I’m a guest in someone else’s home —which means I’m not cooking, so a small sacrifice to pay in my estimation! — when I am the host, I will always make my own. (On a side note, I read somewhere recently that some people just take the sauce out of the can and slice it, which I find to be hilarious. A little weird, but hilarious.)
Homemade cranberry sauce has a glorious garnet colour and a bright taste, it’s ridiculously easy to make and can be made several days ahead.
It’s also a dish that can be customized in a myriad ways. Over the years I have added orange zest, port, raisins, cherries. But one year I happened to have pears on hand and on a whim, chopped them up and tossed them in. The result was delicious. There’s something about the sweetness and texture of pear that offsets the cranberries’ brash tartness, smoothing out their rough edges so that the two fruits meld perfectly together.
Go on, try it. I dare you. The recipe can be easily halved for anyone hosting a surfeit of cranberry sauce naysayers although leftovers are delicious eaten with greek yoghurt for breakfast.
Pear Cranberry Sauce
- 1 bag cranberries
- 2 pears, peeled and chopped
- 1/2 C. sugar
- 1/2 C. water
- Throw all the ingredients in a saucepan, stir well and bring to a boil over medium heat.
- Lower heat and simmer about 15 minutes until the cranberries pop and break down a little.
