Cranberry Molded Salad

Prized for warding off scurvy and other diseases, cranberries were once referred to as “red gold.” About 150 years ago, they were worth more than salmon. Autumn is the time the great cranberry bogs flush crimson as fields are flooded for the harvest. Today, we can enjoy these nutritious, delicious berries year-round. Juiced, dried, frozen, and canned, their “fresh” taste is abundant in any season! Cranberries are a naturally tart complement to turkey. Thanksgiving and the coming holiday season offer several opportunities to serve them, Dollinks!

Cranberry Molded Salad:

1 pkg. (4 serving size) cranberry-flavored Jell-O gelatin    

1 c. (250 mL) boiling water     

3 tbsp. (45 mL) lemon juice

½ c. (125 mL) sugar

2 c. (500 mL) fresh or frozen cranberries   

1 c. (250 mL) chopped celery

½ c. (125 mL) chopped, toasted walnuts (see Note)

Pour Jell-O and boiling water into a bowl, stirring until powder dissolves. Immediately add lemon juice and sugar, stirring until sugar dissolves. Chill until jelly begins to set slightly; time will depend on container in which jelly is mixed. Coarsely chop cranberries in blender or food processor. Stir into jelly. Dice celery, stirring into jelly with toasted walnuts. Pour mixture into oil-sprayed decorative mold and refrigerate (I used five ½ c. molds). When completely set, invert mold/s over serving plate, warming edges of mold with a hot towel until mold releases jelly. Serves 5 in small individual molds, and 8 in a single, medium-sized mold. This salad adds a new twist to an old standard. It is outstanding.

Note: See How to Toast Nuts in Index.

For more cranberry recipes like this one, see One Click: Cranberry Sauces, Relish, and Chutney.

Pour boiling water over cranberry-flavored gelatin.

Prepare to blender-chop cranberries in water; drain.

Seek a coarse chop, with a few whole berries remaining.

Toasting walnuts enhances their flavor.

Add chopped cranberries, celery, and nuts to jelling mix.

Oil and fill decorative molds. 

Proceed until all molds are filled.

This makes a fabulous first course! The photo is
slightly tipped toward my eagerly open mouth!