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This fruity treat will spoil you forever for store-bought jams. The sweet stuff—complex, sticky currants and orange juice—gets a tasteful (and tasty) assist from woodsy fresh rosemary, bitter and fragrant orange zest, and a little black pepper for a touch of warmth. It all makes for an uncommonly lovely fruit spread. (First person to try it warm on ice cream, please let everyone know how it goes in the comments.)
It's fabulous on its own with any baked good you have lying around. It can also add a layered sweet note to tofu and avocado breakfast sandwiches:
And it makes seriously seductive peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. No joke.
Currant, Orange, and Rosemary Spread
yields about 1 1/3 cups
juice of two oranges
zest of half an orange
8 oz dried black currants (about 1 3/4 cups)
2 TBSP finely chopped fresh rosemary
1/4 tsp fine sea or kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
Juice the oranges (after zesting half of one). Add enough water to the juice to get a total of one cup liquid. Add it, along with all other ingredients, to a small pot over medium heat. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Let simmer 30 minutes, covered, stirring every 10 minutes. Mixture should be thickened, but some visible liquid should remain.
Carefully transfer to a mason jar and puree with an immersion blender until smooth. Let cool completely before storing in the fridge.