Place the water, orange juice, cranberries, sugar and orange zest in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium high heat. Reduce the heat and maintain a simmer until the cranberries have burst, and the mixture has thickened, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a food processor and pulse until it is chopped but not pureed.
Transfer to a container, cover, and chill for at least 8 hours, and up to 5 days. Serve chilled or at room temperature.
Notes
Leftover cranberry orange sauce or relish is tailor made for leftover turkey sandwiches. Also perfect with chicken, and once I realized how perfectly it goes with all kinds of roast pork I understood that cranberry sauce is not just for Thanksgiving or Christmas. I can’t imagine that it wouldn’t pair beautifully with slices of roast lamb or lamb chops as well.This is more of a relish than a sauce, chopped and chunky. You could puree it in the food processor if you prefer a more consistent texture. It won’t get totally smooth, but that fine. And that’s what shouts “homemade”. Not that you aren’t fully within your rights to point that out yourself.