Here's what you'll need:
1. Using a vegetable peeler, peel the orange.
2. Chop the orange zest into thin slices and add it to a medium pot.
3. Peel the rind away from the orange like you would normally peel an orange. Chop the orange segments into tiny pieces.
4. So: You've got your zest in a pot, your orange in a bowl.
5. Add the sugar, HALF the bag of cranberries and 1/4 cup of water to the pot with the zest.
Keep the other half of the cranberries close by– you'll be adding them soon.
6. Cook this over medium heat, stirring with a spoon, until the cranberries have burst and it looks all jammy and wonderful, about 5 minutes.
7. Add the other half of the cranberries and the chopped orange then stir to combine everything.
8. Cook until the cranberries (the ones you just added) start to burst, about 2 minutes, then remove from heat and let cool completely.
9. Transfer to a serving bowl and put it on everything.
Fresh Cranberry & Orange Relish
Recipe by Alison Roman
Serves 8
1 orange
1 (12-oz.) bag cranberries
¾ cup sugar
Using a vegetable peeler, remove the zest (the orange part) from the orange. Thinly slice the zest and add it to a medium pot along with the sugar, ½ the bag of cranberries and ¼ cup water. Cook this over medium heat, stirring with a spoon until the cranberries have burst and it looks all jammy and wonderful, about 5 minutes. Add the other half of the cranberries and the chopped orange and keep cooking until the cranberries you just added start to burst, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer this mixture to a serving bowl (or, if you're doing this ahead of time, a Tupperware container). Chill in the refrigerator.
DO AHEAD
You can make this cranberry sauce five days ahead. If I were you, I would, because it literally will taste as good on day five as it does on day one.
Just be sure to keep it covered and chilled (a tupperware or bowl with plastic over it will do) and give it a quick stir before serving.