The concept of a "mostarda" had never entered my culinary space before-- in fact, I would have been hard-pressed to guess whether it was a foodstuff or a sports car. However, a challenge is a challenge, so I decided to make this, even if I had no idea what to do with it. I didn't have yellow mustard seeds, so I used fennel seeds-- they were a bit chewy, but we really love fennel, so the taste was excellent. This was very tasty-- I had a bit on cream cheese crackers.
I also served it with my Early Bird Turkey. The mostarda is not at all sweet, so it was a big hit with my sweet-averse husband. Plus, the flavors of mustard seed, orange, pear, fennel, rosemary etc. made for a great condiment. I like my cranberry sauce a little sweeter, so I mixed the mostarda with an equal amount of the cranberry-cinnamon compote-- that was excellent. I can't wait to try it on a cold turkey sandwich-- the true test of cranberry sauce.
So, I'm glad I took this recipe for a spin-- it's a tasty discovery for me, and no speeding tickets.
