Nuts Enliven Unusual Cranberry Sauce

Once again I’ve stocked up on cranberries, compelled less by cravings than by the spirit of the season, which seems to make them compulsory.

Unfortunately, cranberries aren’t quite as versatile as other seasonal foods such as pumpkin and sweet potatoes. For one thing, the tart pellets demand large infusions of sugar. For another, if not simmered with care, they’ll turn bitter despite the sweetening.

I’ve yet to sample a cranberry sauce that’s made me lament the berry’s short season, but this fruit and nut relish, adapted from Carole Schneider’s “Fresh: A Greenmarket Cookbook” (Panache Press/Random House), comes close.

FRUIT AND NUT RELISH

1 cup water

1 cup sugar or 3/4 cup honey

1 (12-ounce) package cranberries

1 cup frozen unsweetened raspberries or 1/2 pint fresh raspberries

3 large navel oranges, peeled and sliced into bite-size segments

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup firm plain yogurt or sour cream, optional

1/2 cup whole shelled walnuts or pecans

Heat water and sugar in medium saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves and mixture is smooth and well blended. Rinse cranberries in colander, discarding any that are bruised or blemished.

Add cranberries to sweetened water and bring to boil. Cook, uncovered, just until berries pop and juice thickens, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat immediately.

Add orange segments and raspberries to cranberry mixture and mix well. Let cool. Stir in yogurt, chill at least 3 hours before serving. Add walnuts just before serving. Makes about 4 cups.