Wild Onion Cranberry Relish

timeframe: 2 days or longer

During the winter, a seasonal trio of cranberries, oranges, and onions gets a wild and probiotic makeover in this easy introduction to backyard foraging and fermenting.

This simple cranberry relish is tart and piquant, a condiment that complements salads, roasts, and sandwiches. It’s also a great introduction to wild food and fermentation!

Ingredients

• Wild onion, 1 tbsp, minced. Use kitchen shears to cut a handful of supple Allium vineale greens from a nearby lawn. Also known as wild garlic or onion grass, it has a round hollow stem and has the unmistakable aroma of onion. It grows taller than turfgrass in winter and is readily found volunteering in most non-sprayed lawns. (Or, substitute 2 tbsp chopped shallot or onion.)

• Cranberries, 12 oz. Rinse well and compost any funky ones.

• Orange. Wash one orange thoroughly, peel and coarsely chop the rind and the fruit pulp. Remove any seeds.

• Non-iodized salt, 2 tsp. Sea salt or kosher, as long as it isn’t iodized, it’s cool. Why? Iodized salt can inhibit fermentation.

• Raw honey, 1 tbsp. Raw honey contains micronutrients, enzymes, and functions as a prebiotic. Not for infants. 

• Water, 1 tbsp. Ensures adequate hydration for the fermentation process. 

Supplies

• large mixing bowl
• mason jars
• food processor
• canning funnel (optional)

Method

1. Blend together. Use a food processor to pulse all the ingredients together into your desired consistency.
2. Pack into a jars… and wait. Press the relish into clean mason jars to ferment. Be sure to remove any air pockets. Cap loosely with a metal lid, or use a plastic lid, so that brine can overflow during the fermentation process. Place the jars on a plate out of direct sunlight and ignore for two days.
3. Taste your relish. After two days, The flavors will have mingled and can still be adjusted to your liking. Feel free to improvise with additions of rosemary, ginger, or however your palate guides gustatory whimsy. We’ve found it tastes fantastic as a salsa for tacos made with our signature ESFL nixtamalized tortillas!  

Regardless of how you enjoy it, you can be confident that it is supporting your immune system, promoting digestion, scavenging free radicals, improving your mood, and providing an array of vitamins and minerals.