Blood Oranges

Blood oranges. For quite a while the name put me off buying them. Now? Well all I can say is that I’m being good and having orange juice every day - in my Campari and soda.

Apparently ‘conniosseurs of citrus fruits consider these orange to be among the worlds finest dessert oranges’ (Alan Davidson in The Oxford Companion to Food).  Alice Waters offers quite a few recipes in her Chez Panisse cookbooks, as do many American pastry chefs.

Apart from desserts I’ve eaten a beetroot and blood orange salad that was a visual feast and a true taste sensation.

What do they look like? Well, they’re smallish, and compared to the big, bold navels sitting beside them you’d be forgiven for thinking they’re a poor cousin. Some have a deep reddish blush on the skin that I love to see.

Cut one open and you’ll be amazed at the jewel before you. Squeeze the juice and fall in love with the sweet, rich flavour. At this point you can take my path to bliss (see above) or you can fiddle a bit and make a curd tart, an ice cream or a sherbet.

Their in season from August till early Summer so look for one or some at your greengrocer and enjoy.

The recipe below, from Claudia Roden, is one of my favourites. It’s a nice way to announce that warmer weather is on the way. You can use different citrus juices but blood oranges make a particularly special granita because of their colour.

Blood Orange Granita

Ingredients

• 1 litre fresh blood orange juice
• Jiuce of 1 lemon or 2T orange-flower water
• 4-6T castor sugar

Method

1. Beat the ingredients together.
2. Taste for sweetness.
3. Pour into ice-cube trays and freeze, covered with cling plastic.
4. When ready to serve, blend in a food processor to a fine, smooth texture.
5. The granita can be put back into the freezer and eaten later.

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