No-Cook Cranberry Orange Relish (Rocco DiSpirito–Style)
A bright, fresh cranberry relish made in minutes — no stovetop, no gelatin, just the natural chemistry of fruit, fiber, and flavor. A nod to Rocco, who we’re hoping will open a restaurant in Ventura — or at least join me on my live cooking show!
Serves: 8
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: None (no-cook)
Ingredients
- 1/2 bag fresh cranberries (~6 ounces)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 medium orange, cut into quarters with the peel on (remove any seeds)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Prep:
Rinse and drain cranberries. Quarter the orange, keeping the peel — the peel contains fragrant oils and natural pectin that help thicken and perfume the relish. - Pulse:
Add cranberries, whole orange quarters, sugar, and cinnamon to a food processor. Pulse in short bursts until finely chopped but not pureed. Scrape down the sides as needed. - Taste & adjust:
Taste and adjust sweetness or spice to preference. Add a touch more sugar if too tart, or more cinnamon for warmth. - Chill:
Transfer to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate for at least one hour. The natural pectin in the cranberries and orange peel will lightly gel the mixture as it chills. - Serve:
Serve cold as a condiment. Keeps in the refrigerator 3–4 days.
Nutrition & Culinary Medicine Notes
Cranberries and orange peel are naturally rich in pectin, a soluble, fermentable fiber that forms a soft gel when mixed with acid and sugar — the same chemistry that thickens this relish.
Once eaten, that pectin travels to your colon, where gut microbes ferment it into short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) such as butyrate, acetate, and propionate. These compounds help regulate blood sugar, improve insulin sensitivity, reduce inflammation, and feed the cells lining your colon.
So while this recipe is bright and sweet, it’s also functional food science — a dish that delivers both flavor and metabolic benefit.
Mediterranean Diet Points
1 point for fruit (in a modest serving — about 2 tablespoons as a condiment).
Nutritional Information (per serving, ~2 tablespoons)
- Calories: ~65
- Total Fat: 0g
- Saturated Fat: 0g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
- Sodium: 0mg
- Carbohydrates: 16g
- Dietary Fiber: 1g
- Sugar: 14g
- Protein: 0g
No-cook, no fuss — just fresh fruit, pectin chemistry, and a hint of California optimism. Here’s hoping Rocco brings his kitchen to Ventura.