Fresh Cranberry Preserves with No-knead Crusty Bread

We hosted the holidays this year and, with all the craziness surrounding the first holiday at our house, we totally forgot about the beautiful fresh cranberries hanging out in the fridge. Oooops! No problem, this recipe is a great use of a simply wonderful fruit that gets the cold shoulder for most of the year. I’ve been slathering it on fresh bread and even eating it with a spoon. It’s the perfect balance of tart and sweet with the option to add persimmons, blood orange slices, candied ginger etc.

So pretty with rich reds and a gorgeous glisten. Enjoy!

Fresh Cranberry Preserves

 

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A recipe that's almost as easy as buying canned cranberry but infinitely more delicious and beautiful. These fresh cranberry preserves will be the sparkling jewel of your holiday table!

Author: Crystal Cartier

Recipe type: Sides, Snacks, Condiment

Cuisine: Vegan, Gluten-Free, Holiday

Ingredients

• 12 oz package of fresh cranberries
• ⅓ cup red wine
• ¼ teaspoon ginger
• ½ to ⅔ cup sugar
• slices from 1 blood orange (optional)
• chopped toasted pecans (optional)

Instructions

1. Stir all ingredients together in a pan and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce to simmer and cook for 5-7 minutes until it thickens and gels slightly.
3. Let cool. EASY PEASY!

3.5.3229

No-knead Crusty Bread

 

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For this beautiful crusty fresh bread I use the No-knead dutch oven recipe below adapted from Sullivan Street Bakery and featured here in the New York Times. It's super easy and quite genius but you should start the night before and let it do it's first rise overnight. It's especially fantastic with white flour (I know, I know) and I've found that it's best to cut the flour by ⅓ of a cup if using whole wheat flour to prevent the bread from becoming to dense. You'll get a big loaf out of this recipe with no fuss!

Author: Crystal Cartier

Recipe type: Snacks, Sides

Cuisine: Vegan, Vegetarian

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
• ¼ teaspoon instant yeast
• 1¼ teaspoons salt
• Cornmeal

Instructions

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1⅝ cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.
2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.
3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel cornmeal (or flour); put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.
4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is okay. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes (I bake for 7-10 minutes uncovered otherwise the bottom burns in my oven), until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.
5. Smother with cranberry preserves and ENJOY!

3.5.3229