Cranberry Mustard (New York Style)

Fills 1 (1/2 pint) jar
3/4 cup dried cranberries
2/3 cup apple juice or orange juice
2 cups fresh cranberries
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon grainy mustard
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Put the dried cranberries in a saucepan and add enough apple juice or orange juice to cover. Bring to a boil, then remove from the heat and let sit to plump up for 30 minutes.

Put 1 cup of water and the fresh cranberries in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the cranberries have burst (about five minutes), then add the sugar and honey and stir until dissolved.

Heat the olive oil in a small skillet and sauté the onion until soft and golden. Add the vinegar and mustard and cook gently for another five minutes. Mix this with both types of cranberries and any remaining soaking liquid from the dried cranberries, and season to taste.

Process in a food processor using the pulse button (if you want it really smooth, you can then 
press the mixture through a nylon strainer, but I leave it chunky). Put in a sterilized jar (see page 11), 
then cover and seal with a vinegar-proof lid. Let cool, and keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. 
 
How to use
This is obviously a good thing to have around at Christmas, and it’s good with cold cooked ham, too. Russians eat cranberries with red meat, so don’t rule it out with cold rare roasted beef. Its selling point is that it is both hot and sweet.

Adapted with Permission from "Salt Sugar Smoke" (Octopus Books) by Diana Henry.