Like the stuffing we made, finding a cranberry sauce that was Samin-approved was harder than expected. In interviews she often mentions adding quince and bay leaves to cranberry sauce, but it took a little sleuthing (and another trip through the Wayback Machine) to uncover a 2016 post for this Cranberry Sauce with Quince and Bay, which I believe is adapted from a Jill Silverman Hough recipe in Bon Appétit.
I’ve had quince paste before, but I had actually never cooked with fresh quince – and my mental picture was very incorrect. <<>> I’d always imagined kumquat-size fruit; instead they’re more like apples in both size and texture.
The diced quince is simmered with water, sugar, lemon peel, and bay leaves until soft, then drained and mashed. From there, the cranberries get tossed in and cooked until they burst, and the whole thing gets finished with lemon juice and a pinch of salt.
The result is a delicious twist on a Thanksgiving classic – bright, tart, lightly floral – with a deeper complexity than your standard sauce. And as a longtime bay-leaf skeptic (“Do they actually do anything?”), I can officially confirm that fresh, dried bay leaves absolutely do. A friend gave me a bag and they are worlds better than the dusty jar from the grocery store!
Rating: 4/5
How Easy Is That – Skill Level: Easy
How Easy Is That – Time Involved: 50 minutes, plus chill time
Store-Bought Is Fine: Bay leaves
Hard-to-find: Fresh quince
Samin adapted this from Bon Appetit (Samin uses 8 ounces cranberries but most of the recipe is the same)
