Search Results for blood oranges
Friday Recipe Exchange: Blood Oranges
Tonight’s recipe exchange is going to be a quick one. It’s been a stressful week – the little company I work with is downsizing (you can read about it here) and I’m busy helping them restructure. The weekend cannot come soon enough. Time to get out and ride and maybe do some gardening.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, it’s Blood Orange season and I thought I’d take advantage. I know we just did oranges, but that’s actually one of the reasons for tonight’s theme. I received an email question about using blood oranges instead of Clementine’s in the Orange Bread recipe. That reminded me to go looking for blood oranges. Usually I have a difficult time finding them, but a new Sprouts Market opened in my neighborhood and they have a great fresh produce section where I’ve been able to find all kinds of fun stuff. Including some beautiful and flavorful blood oranges.
If you haven’t ever had them, they are sweeter than navel oranges, a little bit of a raspberry flavor, I guess, to them. A nice mix of sweet and tart flavors. Here’s a bit of an explanation over at Sunkist. Really anything you do with oranges, you can do with blood oranges and get a really pretty display in the process.
So with that, I have three recipes for you and, sorry, no photos, it took all the energy I had left just to put together the recipes.
First up: Blood Orange Salad (click here)
Next: Blood Orange Coleslaw (click here)
What’s going on in your kitchen this weekend? Anything fun? Anyone firing up the grill yet?
And finally tonight’s featured recipe:
Blood Orange Glaze and Salsa
This was originally meant for a firm white fish, but it works well with chicken, salmon and pork. So I thought I’d give you the basics and you can experiment with how you use them.
If you can’t find blood oranges, you can substitute ruby red grapefruit, or use all navel oranges, maybe add some raspberries for a nice flavor.
Blood Orange Glaze
- 1/2 cup blood orange juice
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tsp orange zest
- pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
- salt & pepper to taste
Warm honey and orange juice until the honey is completely melted. Stir in zest, pepper flakes, salt & pepper. Broil (set rack at second level from the top) or grill fish fillets, pounded chicken breasts or boneless pork chops, basting with the sauce and turning frequently until cooked through and glaze is carmelized. Top with salsa (recipe below).
Blood Orange Salsa
- 4 blood oranges, peeled, sectioned and chopped
- 1 tsp orange zest
- 1 naval orange, peeled, sectioned & chopped
- 4 green onions, chopped
- 1 small jalapeno, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 tbsp limejuice
- Salt & pepper to taste
large bowl
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and set aside for about 30 minutes.
Blood Orange Coleslaw
Continuing with the today’s theme, Blood Oranges.
If you miss the short season or can’t find any locally when they are in season, you can substitute half navel oranges and half ruby red grapefruit for a nice sweet-tang. Alternately you can use all navel oranges and it will work fine. Toss a few red raspberries in the mix and you’ll have a great flavor combo.
Here’s a recipe that I adapted from somewhere or other. I substituted a lot of ingredients to match my flavor palette, you should feel free to do the same. The dressing would work well over spinach or other greens, as well as the cabbages listed.
Blood Orange Coleslaw
- 6 tbsps fresh blood orange juice
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 2 tsp honey (more as desired)
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 finely sliced red onion (try using the mandoline or slicing blade on a box grater for a pretty effect)
- 1 large head of savoy cabbage, finely sliced, or 1/2 head green cabbage, shredded
- 1/2 head red cabbage, shredded
- 1 large red bell pepper, sliced
- 1 blood orange, peeled, sectioned and chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans (opt)
Prepare dressing in advance: Whisk juice, vinegar, and honey in bowl. Whisk in oil, then mayonnaise. Season with salt and pepper. Store in a covered glass container.
Toss onion, cabbages, bell pepper and oranges in large bowl. Just before serving, shake dressing well and pour over vegetables; toss. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with pecans. Serves 4-6
Blood Orange Salad
Blood oranges are in season so I thought I’d make it the focus of tonight’s recipe exchange. This was originally posted January 2009:
- 2 blood oranges**
- 2 large navel oranges
- 6 green onions, thinly sliced
- ½ small jicama, peeled & cubed
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp oregano, crushed
- ¼ tsp ground cumin
- Bibb lettuce leaves
shallow serving bowl
Peel oranges, and slice them into thin circles (don’t section). Place oranges, onions & jicama in a bowl. Sprinkle with vinegar, oil, oregano & cumin, and toss gently. Let marinate 30 minutes at room temperature, serve on lettuce leaves.
**If you can’t find Blood Oranges, substitute pink grapefruit for some tang.
Tired of Winter Cooking: Some Fresh Ideas
I’m so very tired of winter cooking. Stews, soups (ok, I’m never really tired of soup), roasted meats and veggies. Time to freshen things up.
But with what? The produce section is often disappointing with flavorless items that haven’t seen the light of day. But there are some bright spots and with those I can wave away the winter cooking blues.
First up: Peppers and onions.
This is the time of year when you can find a variety of sweet peppers in all kinds of colors at a pretty reasonable price. My recipes are usually fairly simple. Heat up olive oil, add thinly sliced onions and peppers, season with a dash of salt and pepper. Sauté until they soften and onion are golden. Remove from heat and now you can cook up any number of things: chicken marinated in lemon juice and pepper, thin beef strips marinated in teriyaki and ponzu sauce, pork medallions marinated in apple juice and a bit of apple cider vinegar. The ideas are endless. Serve over rice, mashed potatoes, butter noodles, quinoa…
Or how about Fajitas? That recipe is here.
Next up: Fresh salads.
I found a nice jicama one day and realized I hadn’t made a batch of Jicama Slaw since last summer. A big bowl of that in the refrigerator to munch on all week really lifted the flavor blahs. You can find the recipe here.
Two other summer favorites that are easy to make mid-winter: Potato Salads (recipes here) and Coleslaw (recipe here).
How about fruits?
Now is the time for Strawberries (recipes here and here)
Blood Oranges (recipes here)
And Grapes – one of my favorite grape recipes is Grapes and Sausages, recipe here.
That should be enough help you get through a few more weeks of winter while dreaming of the fresh vegetables soon to come from gardens and farm stands.
There will be a puppeh update today or tomorrow. Until then…
Winter Doldrums
About this time of the year I get bored with cooking. And since part of my job is coming up with menus and recipes, this can be a challenge. I’ve cooked all my winter favorites, the hearty soups, the pot roasts and roasted chickens. Stews, spicy pastas, breads and muffins – I’ve run the gamut. I begin to miss the variety I can find in the spring, summer and fall at my local farmer’s market and grocery store. The fresh sweet corn, the tangy berries, and greens of all kinds. Their seasons seem so far away.
But fear not, there are fresh treats to be found. Each month, my goal is to highlight for you what is fresh and in season, no matter where you live. January holds some surprising jewels: oranges, tangerines, mandarins, pears, potatoes, broccoli, kale, kumquats and mushrooms of all kinds. Along with lemons, limes, grapefruit and endive.
So when you’re at the grocery store this month, look for something new and fresh and create around it. Chicken Piccata with fresh lemons. Key Lime Pie. Salads with fruits as the center piece. Later today I’ll post a great recipe for Blood Oranges. How’s that for new and different? Until then.
Dinner Menu: Color It Orange
In the heat of summer, I like to keep the menus out of the kitchen to keep things cool. So break out the grill and the chocolate.
Sometimes I really want oranges. Orange juice, orange popsicles, orange dreamsicles, orange chicken, and oranges, lots of oranges. When I originally put this menu together, I worried that there would be too much orange with both the chicken and the salad. But the chicken flavor is subtle; more of a tangy citrus and the orange salad compliments it nicely. Instead of bread you can try couscous or a nice variety of rice, I’m into brown Jasmine these days. Chocolate is the perfect finish to an orange themed dinner, so fire up the grill, get out your sticks, put on your scout cap and make some S’Mores.
On the board tonight:
- Orange Grilled Chicken
- Orange Salad
- Artisan Bread with garlic butter
- S’Mores
Orange Grilled Chicken – Marinate Overnight
- ½ cup orange juice concentrate
- ¼ cup limejuice
- 2 tsp crushed garlic
- 1 tsp dried mint, crushed
- 1 tsp oregano, crushed
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp salt & pepper
- 4 boneless chicken breasts
zip-lock bag, bowl, brush & saucepan
Mix together all ingredients and marinate overnight in a ziplock bag or sealed container. Remove chicken from marinade and set aside. Add marinade to saucepan and boil until reduced by half, stirring constantly. Grill chicken over medium high heat for 15 to 20 minutes until no longer pink in the center (170ºf). Baste frequently with sauce after the first 5 minutes.
To keep chicken from drying out, sear both sides (about 3-5 minutes) over direct heat and finish cooking away from direct flame.
Orange Salad
- 1 head red leaf lettuce
- 3 oranges, peeled, remove pith and slice in thin circles
- 1 cucumber, peeled & sliced
- 1 red onion, thinly sliced rings
- 4 oz slivered almonds
- 2 tbsp orange juice
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1 tbsp honey
- ¼ tsp ea. Oregano, cumin & salt
- 1/8 tsp pepper
serving bowl
Tear leaves and arrange in bowl. Layer oranges, cucumber, onion and almonds. Whisk together remaining ingredients and drizzle over lettuce mixture.
Menu serves 4
Shopping List:
- Loaf of Artisan Bread
- 1 stick of butter
- 16 oz box of graham crackers
- 1 bag marshmallows
- 4 chocolate bars (okay, to be authentic I think they should be Hersheys)
- 6 oz can frozen orange juice concentrate
- 3 oz limejuice
- 4 boneless chicken breasts
- 1 head red leaf lettuce
- 3 navel oranges
- 1 cucumber
- 1 red onion
- 4 oz slivered almonds
Also: lots of crushed garlic, dried mint, oregano, ground ginger, salt, pepper, cumin, white wine vinegar, honey
Originally published June 2010
==========================================
