This is a wonderful simple relish that comes together quickly and I wanted to share it with you, I think you’ll love this. I’ve been finding more gems in the Field of Greens cookbook and this one was just too easy. The combination of tart berries, sweet pear and tangy orange really come together well.

I served the cranberry-pear relish alongside roasted pork loin, truffle mashed potatoes and kale salad. It was perfect for this type of meal. The book is vegetarian so it suggests serving with a butternut squash pastry turnover, which sounds so good I think I will have to try that, and no doubt it will make a great side dish for the holidays. Like I said this is quick and easy, less than 15 minutes and it’s ready for the table. You can’t beat that! I’ll probably have another cranberry relish/sauce to post soon, I made one last year with figs that was unbelievably good, but I need to find that recipe, this was pre-blog days so I’m hoping I have it bookmarked somewhere.

This thanksgiving really seemed to just pop up out of nowhere, I can’t believe it’s late November already, did we not just move to Portland? Time has a way of moving at warp speed these days.

So I’m hustling to put together something resembling a holiday meal three days from now. We’ve decided to go with roast chicken and forgo the turkey. We’re staying home this thanksgiving so it’s dinner for two. And honestly I made a roast chicken not too long ago and it was so good, served with a side of Butternut Squash Crumble I think I could just make that all over again.

Photo notes: I used the 105mm macro lens for the cranberries and 50mm f/1.8 for the pears and the the Cranberry-Pear Relish.

Cranberry-Pear Relish

(adapted from Field of Greens)

3/4 pound fresh cranberries (about 3 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup sugar
2 medium-size ripe pears, cored and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon finely chopped orange zest

Place the cranberries in a medium-size saucepan with the orange juice and sugar. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and cook for about 10 minutes. The cranberries should be cooked through and still hold their shape. Add the pears and half the orange zest. Cook for 1 minute more, just long enough to heat the pears through, they will continue to cook with the hot cranberries. Allow to cool, add remaining orange zest to taste and serve.

The relish will hold up for a week in a sealed container in the refrigerator.