Cranberry sauce with candied oranges

Photo: David Lebovitz

David candies orange slices in their own syrup first, then chops them into the sauce like little jewels. Brown sugar, rum, cider vinegar and allspice make it taste grown-up.

From David Lebovitz

Blanching the orange twice takes the bitterness out of the pith, so the whole slice, peel and all, goes in.

You need

• 1 large navel orange, seeds removed
• 3/4 cup (180 ml) water, plus another 3/4 cup (180 ml)
• 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed (90 g) light brown sugar
• 2 tbsp dark rum
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 1/2 tbsp cider vinegar
• 1/8 tsp ground allspice
• 1 cup (110 g) fresh or frozen cranberries

How to make it

1. Cut both ends off the orange, then slice it into 1/3-inch (1 cm) rounds with a serrated knife.
2. Put the slices in a saucepan, cover with cold water, bring to a boil and simmer 10 minutes. Drain, cover with fresh water and simmer 10 minutes more. Drain and rinse with cold water.
3. Return the slices to the pan with 3/4 cup water and the granulated sugar. Boil gently until the liquid turns to a thick syrup, turning the slices now and then so they candy evenly. Near the end, watch closely and keep turning so they don't scorch. Tip into a colander to cool.
4. In the same pan, bring the other 3/4 cup water, brown sugar, rum, cinnamon stick, vinegar and allspice to a boil. Add the cranberries and cook until they pop and just start to collapse.
5. Chop the candied oranges into pea-size pieces, stir them in and cook 1 minute more. Take off the heat, pull out the cinnamon stick and let it cool; it thickens as it sits.

Written in our own words from David Lebovitz's recipe, with their quantities. The original: Cranberry sauce with candied oranges, David Lebovitz.

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