Cranberry Jelly Salad With Lime-Sugared Nuts

Preparation

1. Step 1

   Heat a small skillet over medium-high, then add the nuts and toast, shaking the pan occasionally, until fragrant and slightly darker in color, about 30 seconds. Set aside to cool slightly. Zest the limes into a small bowl and, using your fingers, rub 3 tablespoons sugar into the zest until fragrant and well combined. To this lime sugar, add ½ cup cooled nuts and, if using, citric acid and toss to combine. Set aside for later.

2. Step 2

   Lightly grease a 3-cup jelly mold, Bundt pan or wide shallow bowl with nonstick spray or a paper towel dipped in oil.

3. Step 3

   Pour ½ cup juice into a 4-cup liquid measuring cup or large bowl and stir in the gelatin; set aside to soak (the gelatin will hydrate and thicken the juice).

4. Step 4

   To a medium pot, add 2½ cups cranberries, 1½ cups chopped apple and the remaining 1½ cups of juice and ¼ cup sugar and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, swirling the pan occasionally, until the cranberries burst and the apple softens slightly, about 5 minutes. Squeeze ¼ cup juice from the zested limes and add to the pot. Strain this hot cranberry-apple juice mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into the gelatin without pressing down on the solids. Stir to combine. Set aside to cool to lukewarm, about 10 minutes.

5. Step 5

   Stir the remaining ¼ cup toasted nuts, ½ cup cranberries and ½ cup chopped apple into the cooled juice mixture and pour into the jelly mold. Transfer to the refrigerator to set until solid but jiggly, at least 4 hours or up to overnight. To unmold the jelly, fill a pan larger than the mold with hot water from the tap. Dip the mold into the hot water (don’t let hot water get inside the mold) until the edges of the gelatin look wet, a few seconds to 3 minutes depending on the thickness of your mold. Cover the mold with a large plate and quickly (and confidently) flip it. You can make this jelly up to 3 days in advance; keep the unmolded gelatin covered and refrigerated until ready to unmold, and be sure to unmold a few minutes before serving for a softer texture. Unmold the jelly and sprinkle with the lime-sugared nuts.