Until this week’s impressive recipe haul, cranberries had the tiniest of footholds in my culinary lexicon. They were the almost-raisins – and I don’t even like raisins – and the tart juice I turned to only in certain dire medical situations, the memory of which does not bear reliving. To say I came to your recipes with low expectations is to put it mildly.
So I am genuinely delighted to report that I loved every single one. I haven’t had this much trouble choosing a winner since savoury biscuits caused me to bake well over 200 crackers; I couldn’t choose, and I couldn’t stop. Well, I found these berries to be similarly addictive. They roast beautifully, pickle perfectly. They bring the right amount of sweet and sour to a bake as they do to a green leaf. And they’re just what you want with something creamy – be it avocado, goat’s cheese or buttercream. Fresh, dried and juiced, what old-timer New Englanders liked to call bearberries have become my new BFF (best foodstuff forever).
The winning recipe: Roast butternut squash with cranberry and goat’s cheese
I particularly liked how Anna Thomson roasts her berries in honey and oil until they caramelise. The flavour with the cheese is superb, and a lovely alternative to the pomegranate seeds that roast butternut most often comes with these days.
Serves 2-4
5cm chunk butternut squash, cut in slim wedges
100g fresh cranberries
4 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp honey
Salt and black pepper
1 bag baby spinach, washed and dried
1 goat’s cheese log, sliced
50g pecans or walnuts, toasted
1 Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Mix the squash wedges with 2 tbsp olive oil and put in a baking tray.
2 Mix the cranberries with 2 tbsp olive oil and the honey. Put in a small tray.
3 Season both with salt and pepper and bake for 15 minutes until both are slightly caramelised. The squash may need longer. Put aside to cool a little.
4 Put the spinach in a serving bowl. Arrange the squash on top, then the goat’s cheese. Sprinkle with the nuts and cranberries. Drizzle with the pan juices from both the squash and cranberries and check seasoning.
Cranberry, persimmon and rocket salad
An altogether crunchier salad from Rhian Williams, with dried cranberries adding nuggets of fudgy sour sweetness. It’s more a sparkling garnish than a star ingredient, but delicious nonetheless.
Serves 4
2 fuyu (non-astringent) persimmons, peeled, cored and diced
1 avocado, peeled and diced
A handful of dried cranberries
A few handfuls of rocket leaves
½ handful pecan nuts, roughly chopped
½ handful hazelnuts, roughly chopped
Seeds of ½ pomegranate
For the dressing
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
1 tbsp ume shiso seasoning (or balsamic vinegar)
A pinch of salt
1 Put all the ingredients for the salad in a large bowl.
2 Mix together all the ingredients for the dressing in a separate bowl.
3 Just before serving, pour the dressing over the salad and mix well.
Cranberry, quince and apple tart
Fadime Tiskaya’s splendid bake gives Yotam Ottolenghi’s superlative quince poached in pomegranate juice a run for its money, and I didn’t think that was possible.
Serves 8-10
For the filling
2 large quinces
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
8-10 cloves
280g caster sugar
Cold water
300g fresh cranberries
2 cooking apples, peeled, cored and sliced thinly
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp sumac
30g cornflour
For the crust
300g plain flour
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp baking powder
185g cold unsalted butter, diced
125g caster sugar
1 large egg yolk
75g strained yoghurt, cold
1 tbsp ice-cold water, if needed
1 egg yolk and a splash of milk, to glaze
1 Peel, core and cut the quinces into 2cm-thick slices. Put in a saucepan with the quince seeds, cinnamon, star anise, cloves and sugar. Just cover with water and bring to the boil with the lid on. Simmer for about 1 hour, until the quince is tender and pink, and the juice thick and syrupy. Set aside to cool completely.
2 Remove the quinces from the syrup, discard the spices and seeds, and put the cranberries into the pan on a low heat with the lid on. Cook for 3-5 minutes until they burst. Allow to cool.
3 Meanwhile, make the pastry. Mix the salt and baking powder in the flour, then rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the sugar. Whisk the egg yolk in the yoghurt then add this to the flour. Mix until the dough just holds together.
4 Remove a quarter of the pastry. Flatten it, wrap it in clingfilm and let it rest in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
5 Meanwhile, prepare the apples by mixing them with 1 tbsp lemon juice, the sumac and cornflour in a bowl.
6 Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Roll out the big piece of pastry on a floured surface to 5-10mm thick. Lie it over a greased 28cm tart tin and cut away any excess pieces round the rim. Take the smaller piece from the fridge, roll it into a squarish shape 5mm thick and cut into thin strips.
7 Lay the apple slices evenly in the pastry case, then the quince, and pour the cranberry mixture on top.
8 Lay the pastry strips over in a lattice. Brush with egg and bake for about 30 minutes until golden.
9 Allow to cool before removing from the tin and transfer to a serving plate. Serve warm or at room temperature with mascarpone or ice-cream.
Pickled cranberries
This is one of Rachel Kelly’s “twofer” recipes: the pickle does any roast pork or turkey proud while the liquid makes a mean co*cktail with some sparkling wine.
Makes a medium jarful
150g granulated sugar
60ml red wine vinegar
1 cinnamon stick, halved
2 allspice berries
4 cloves
1 tsp coriander seeds
300g fresh cranberries
1 Bring the sugar and vinegar to a boil in a saucepan over a medium heat. Stir to ensure the sugar has dissolved. Add all the spices and bring back to the boil.
2 Add the cranberries and simmer for 6-7 minutes, until they pop.
3 Drain the cranberries into prepared jam jars and top with a little liquid. They’re ready to eat the next day.
Cranberry and orange victoria sponge
Such a pretty cake, ColonialCravings, with flavours as sparkling as the name suggests.
Serves 10-12
For the sponge
1 tsp baking powder
A pinch of salt
3 eggs
The weight of the eggs (inc shells) in butter, in sugar and in self-raising flour
Zest of 1 orange
2 tbsp milk
For the compote
30g sugar
70g cranberries (you can use frozen)
Juice of 1 orange
For the buttercream
1 egg white
50g sugar
70g butter, at room temperature, diced
Zest of 1 orange
1 Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Grease and line two sandwich tins. Sift together the baking powder, salt and flour twice, then set aside.
2 Using a hand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat each egg and mix into the butter and sugar, one at a time. Follow each egg with a spoonful of the flour and beat well. Mix in the orange zest. Sift the remaining flour into the batter in two batches and carefully fold it in.
3 Stir in the milk to loosen the mixture to a soft, dropping consistency. Divide the cake batter evenly between the two prepared tins and level off the tops. Bake in the centre of the oven for 25 minutes. Don’t open the oven door during this time as you might cause them to sink. Once the time is up, check the sponges are cooked with a skewer. Give them another minute or two if it doesn’t come out clean. They should feel light and springy.
4 Let them cool in the tins for 5 minutes then turn them out on to a wire rack and carefully remove the greaseproof paper. Let them cool completely before you fill them.
5 Make the compote by combining the sugar, cranberries and the orange juice in a small saucepan over a moderate heat. Let it simmer for a few minutes, and mash the berries a little to release their juice. Once the juice is thick and syrupy, leave to cool.
6 To make the buttercream, put the egg white and sugar in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Gently whisk while it heats – it needs to be warm and the sugar to have dissolved. Rub a little between your fingers to check the temperature and that it isn’t grainy. Remove from the heat and whisk until it is as stiff as a meringue, then allow to cool.
7 Slowly beat in the butter, a cube at a time. If the mixture is too warm, the butter will melt, so cool the mix in the fridge if it needs it. Continue to whip until it has emulsified and become smooth and creamy, then mix in the orange zest.
8 Put one cake layer, upside down, on a serving plate. Spread with the cold cranberry compote, then the buttercream. Add the top layer of cake. Sprinkle with icing sugar to finish.
Have a go at our next theme, CHRISTMAS LEFTOVERS! Three easy ways to take part:
Upload: theguardian.com/witness;
email: recipes@theguardian.com;
Instagram: @guardian_cook
by noon on Wednesday 7 Dec.
Selected recipes will appear in Cook and online on 24 December.
