Oranges and Citrus Season
My local farmer's markets are brimming right now with grapefruit, mandarin oranges, blood oranges, clementines, tangerines and lemons, and they are hard to resist. After all the sugary sweets of the holiday season, it's such a nice change to eat something naturally sweet from Mother Nature. Since citrus are acids, they are great detoxifiers after the excesses of the holidays.
I just love the burst of flavor that citrus adds. Even as a young child I was fond of lemons. One of my all-time favorite dressings is simply EVOO (extra virgin olive oil), lemon juice, salt and pepper. A simply dressed salad like that is just lovely, and really healthy.
But as much as I love lemons, as an homage to the county in which I live, I want to talk about oranges. This beautiful fruit likely originated in Asia somewhere, and has undergone various genetic manipulations over the years in numerous countries, so there are many types of oranges available. Yet another reason to venture over to your farmer's market - local growers offer us varieties we don’t always find in our supermarkets. Types that can be found here in California are Cara Cara, Navel, blood, Valencia, tangerines and Satsuma mandarins, to name a few.
Since the 1870s, Orange County was nothing but acres and acres of ranch land, orange groves and growing communities. Since the 1950s much of that land has been taken over by housing and development. But there are still small orange groves to be found, perhaps left there from bygone times or newly planted as an homage to our namesake (for instance, at the Great Park where over 1,000 orange trees were donated by a local nursery). For more information on the citrus industry in Orange County history you can click here.
I included two recipes below (in the links provided) that I have made from a couple of cooking shows on the Food Channel in years past. I’d also like to leave you thinking about how to substitute oranges and their juice into your cooking this citrus season.
Slice orange wedges and avocados on top of your fresh green salads and add some tangerine juice in lieu of vinegar to your dressing (a little basil in this dressing makes it really great). Citrus juice is a great addition to vinaigrettes and marinades and adds a nice twist. Marinate your chicken or seafood in any type of citrus juice and some sesame oil for a lovely Asian-inspired flavor.
Though it's a little bit of work, it is an absolutely amazing salad: roasted beets with a reduction of orange and tangerine juice as a dressing. Topped with bleu cheese, this one will knock your socks off (click here for the recipe).
A little orange juice, cinnamon and honey blended into some plain yogurt makes a healthy dressing for fruit salad.
When making chocolate pudding, I sometimes add a little orange zest and cinnamon to it before it sets. It gives the pudding a little unexpected pop of flavor. This recipe’s easy (click here for recipe). Of course, you could make your own chocolate pudding instead.
When looking for ways to incorporate oranges, note that they pair nicely with the following: Armagnac, bananas, basil, chocolate, cinnamon, cloves, cranberries, grapefruit, honey, lemon, mint, olive oil and olives, onions, pomegranates, rosemary, vanilla, vinegar and walnuts.
I’m a big fan of these vintage fruit crate labels from the “old days”.
