Raw Cranberry-Apple Relish

If you're still looking for Thanksgiving recipes and your goals are "easy" and "fast," try this. It doesn't get any easier than raw cranberry relish made entirely in the food processor. I've been intrigued by raw cranberry relish recipes for the last few years, but this is the first time I've tried it. I never make my cooked cranberry sauce very sweet--I prefer it with some spices, more like a chutney. With only 1/3 cup of sugar, it's much healthier than cranberry sauce, plus it adds a bright, refreshing element to the plate.

I made it with crisp Fuji apple and lots of ginger, but you can play around with just about anything. I really loved it. I also ate the leftovers by the spoonful for about 5 days after I made it, and it was great. If you've tried a raw cranberry recipe, how did you like it?

Cranberry-Apple-Ginger Relish

I love the heat of ginger, but if you’re very sensitive to the flavor, scale it back. In addition to the ginger, a fresh chile also adds heat to this easy raw relish.

1 large orange

12 oz fresh cranberries

1 large fuji apple (or pink lady, gala, golden delicious), cored and chopped

2 Tbs finely chopped fresh ginger

1 serrano chile, seeded and chopped (or 1 jalapeno with some seeds)

1/3 cup granulated sugar
salt to taste

Finely grate the zest from the orange (preferably with a microplane) and add to a large bowl. Remove all the white pith from the flesh and remove orange sections with a paring knife. Finely chop and add to bowl.

Add about half of each of the remaining ingredients to a food processor (half the cranberries, half the apple, etc.). I liked doing this in 2 batches; if your processor is very large, do it 1 batch. Finely chop using a few 3-to-5-second pulses, taking care to leave the mixture a bit chunky, not pureed. Add to bowl with orange and repeat with remaining ingredients. Stir thoroughly to combine and add a pinch of salt. Chill at least 2 hours or overnight. Serve slightly chilled.