I must admit this is one of those things that I always though: why bother to make it? However this year it occurred to me that with a Thermomix this just has to be the easiest pieciest thing ever. It truly is!

And better even, I think it gives Fortnum’s Christmas Cranberry Sauce Pantry Jar (£11.95) a serious run for its money for under £5 if you source well your cranberries and still use a fabulous port.

(*) The thing is, the recipe calls for shallots and I’ve made it with and without… My preference is without, so it’s up to you. Perhaps if the shallots were sautéed first it would be a sweeter flavour. You might want to try it. I just prefer to skip step one and avoid the shallots.

Also, the colour of this sauce is at it should be: deep. None of that bright red. And as for sugar, my taste is for a tart and only ever so sweet sauce, but if you want it sweeter just add more sugar.

Finally, all berries are different, and if you have fresh or frozen sometimes the water content can vary. So, after 20 minutes of cooking, have a check. You want to have the fairly runny sauce of loose jam consistency. Just add more time as needed. Even for frozen berries I’d first set the timer to 20 min and then check.

INGREDIENTS
2 shallots (15g grape seed oil)
2 cinnamon sticks
2 star anise
600g fresh cranberries
150g dark brown soft sugar
250g ruby port

1. If using shallots, chop them speed 6 for 5 seconds, brush down sides of TM and chop again if needed. Then add 15g grape seed oil and sautée 5 min Varoma speed 1. 2. Put cinnamon sticks in TM bowl, grind speed 10 until pulverised. 3. Add all ingredients remaining, and cook 20 min Varoma reverse blade speed 1. 4. Remove star anise (if you can), adjust sugar to taste, and place in jar.