450 currant recipes

Holiday mincemeat with chopped beef, suet, apples, sour cherries, dried fruit, and broken nuts simmered slowly with brandy and warming spices. A massive 48-serving batch for Christmas baking and gift-giving.

Quick microwave chicken curry stir-fry tossed with crunchy peanuts, sweet chutney, coconut, and currants over wild rice. A 35-minute weeknight dinner with zero stovetop cleanup.

Yuletide chocolate chip cookies loaded with candied cherries, currants, pecans, and almonds. A festive holiday cookie with brandy flavoring and warm pumpkin pie spice that ages beautifully in the cookie tin.

Barbadians make Black Cake for weddings, birthdays and at Christimas time. Indeed, no Christmas holiday is felt to be complete without black Cake. People from many of the islands make a similar cake. This Black Cake derived from the British Plum Pudding which is a must on their Christmas menu.

A scrumptious cake made with raisins, glaced cherries and dark rum which makes it a popular Christmas favorite in the Caribbean.

Bulgur wheat baked with roasted eggplant, fresh spinach, roasted garlic, bell peppers, currants, and slivered almonds. A vibrant vegetarian casserole packed with Mediterranean flavor.

Crunchy cabbage slaw with shredded carrot, green pepper, and currants in a tangy vinegar-mayo dressing with celery seed. Light, crisp, and better after a good chill.

Bourbon-soaked fruit and nut turkey stuffing with prunes, apricots, cranberries, macadamias, cashews, and walnuts. Festive, nutty, and richly spiced.

Traditional wedding fruitcake with candied cherries, pineapple, dates, raisins, currants, citron, and nuts in a spiced batter. Slow-baked at low heat for a dense, rich loaf.

Khichadi cooks basmati rice and moong dal with cinnamon, cloves, mustard seed, and asafetida, then folds in toasted nuts, coconut, currants, and garam masala. Ayurvedic Indian comfort one-pot.

Stuffed flank steak with marsala mushroom sauce: Italian braciole-style pinwheel rolled around pork, pancetta, spinach, currants, and provolone, then finished in a porcini-marsala sauce.

Pane di Mattina alla Siciliana is a sweet Sicilian breakfast bread enriched with eggs, butter, lemon zest, fennel seed, and Marsala-soaked raisins and currants. Sicily's answer to morning brioche.

Marinating the chicken in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, dried thyme and tarragon add great depth to a rice sauce that's smoothed by just a hint of red currant jelly and enhanced with apricots and tawny port. Be sure to use tawny port. With its beautiful amber color and slightly dry flavor, it compliments the apricots. Save your ruby port, which is sweeter and has a deep red wine color, for after dinner.

Grilled Venison Chop with Chestnut Twice Baked Potato recipe

Heirloom fruitcake packs candied cherries, pineapple, citron, dates, raisins and pecans into a spice-laden batter, baked low and slow then aged a month with wine before serving.

A buttery, breadcrumb-based Christmas plum pudding rich with two kinds of raisins, currants, bitter orange marmalade, and warm spice. Steamed, aged, then flamed at the table and served with silky zabaione.