Cranberry, Orange & Cilantro Sauce

Alyson Stringer Steakley (originally from Margaret McCoy Sargent)
Yield: 2 1/2 cups

I adore recipes that take a standard and turn it on its head with some ingredient twists. The surprises here are red bell pepper, chili pepper and cilantro. Wonderful change from regular cranberry relish and its gotta kick! Great with turkey. Make this at least one day ahead, so the flavors can marry. (Nov 2010)

1 red bell pepper
1 poblano chili pepper
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
2 cups cranberries, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup pecans, toasted, chopped
2 Tbsp orange peel, grated
1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Char the red bell pepper and poblano chili over a gas flame, or under a broiler until blackened on all sides. Enclose pepper and chili in a paper bag. Let stand 10 minutes to steam. Remove from bag, peel off charred skin, slice, seed and chop pepper and chili. 

Mix sugar and orange juice in a heavy sauce pan over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat. Mix in chopped cranberries. 

Transfer to a large bowl. Cool to room temperature. Mix in roasted pepper and chili, nuts and orange peel.

Store in refrigerator. Just before serving stir in cilantro. Add salt and pepper to taste.