Apple & Cranberry Take II

I had extra apples and cranberries left over from the apple cranberry pie of Thanksgiving 2006, so I turned them into cranberry applesauce, using a recipe from Gourmet as a guide. I didn't have any lemons, so I substituted orange zest, which I think worked out well, if not better—I think orange is a more natural combination for cranberries than lemon. I also used half the sugar, just to be "healthier", so the applesauce was really, really tart, almost unbearably so if eaten by itself; but I've been putting in oatmeal and spreading it on toast, so it's somewhat okay.


CRANBERRY APPLESAUCE

4 apples (about 2 pounds), peeled, cored, and chopped
1 cup fresh cranberries, picked over
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup apple juice or water
a 3-inch cinnamon stick
a 3-inch strip of lemon zest removed with a vegetable peeler
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

In a heavy saucepan cook the apples, the cranberries, the sugar, the apple juice or water, the cinnamon stick, and the zest over moderate heat, stirring, for 15 minutes, or until the apples are very soft. Discard the cinnamon stick and teh zest, force the apple mixture through the medium disk of a food mill into a bowl, and stir in the butter. Serve the applesauce warm or chilled. The applesauce keeps, covered and chilled, for 1 week.

Makes about 3 cups.

Gourmet, November 1993