My Dad was the one who made the cranberry sauce in our house and he took this job very seriously – as a result he made a seriously delicious sauce!  Maybe it was meant for the turkey but that did not stop me from lavishing it on my nut roast or eating the leftovers with breakfast!  I love the tartness so my version is only lightly sweetened – maybe too tart for some so adjust to your tastes once slightly cool.

320g fresh cranberries, washed

Zest from 1 large Seville orange

100ml, freshly squeezed orange juice

60ml beetroot juice

 1 tsp. ground star anise

2 tbsps. coconut sugar

1-2 tsps. runny honey (or yacon syrup for vegans)

 

Zest the orange and then juice it – you should get around 100mls of juice but, if not, you can use more beetroot juice instead so you get a total of 160mls of cooking liquid.

Add the orange juice, cranberries and beetroot juice to a medium pan and bring to simmer point over a medium heat.  Add the sugar and star anise and then place a well-fitting lid on the pan; leave to simmer gently for 10 minutes.  Next remove the lid and simmer for a further 5-7 minutes – by this point the majority of the berries should have burst open.  Don’t worry if there is still a lot of liquid in the pan because you’ll find that the mix thickens considerably as it cools.  Whilst still warm, stir in the honey.  I find some cranberry sauces are so sweet they are like jam so I add just add one teaspoon of honey but please adjust to suit your own taste.  I love this served warm but leftovers are so good with breakfast too!