We've been eating a lot of blood oranges lately: ok, they're not in season in our neck of the woods, but they are in season in California and Florida, and sometimes a craving is a craving.
Last year around this time, Josh at The Food Section did a Blood Orange Smackdown, and then whipped up Jody Williams's Insalata D’arancia.
I know what we're having tonight.
I think the Italians call these Tarocchi. regular oranges are Arancie... Lived in Italy as well as Ireland (but I've never seen the US)... Anyway, just read Josh's smackdown... The tarocchi I'd had were sometimes extremely variegated between dark and light orange.
Anyway, don't we really call these Valencia Oranges or am I completely off base? I'm under the impression that the "blood orange" moniker is a fashinable name these days.
In Italy they like to make a pasta with sauteed oranges and radicchio... How does that sound?
These are my favorite. I make a great salad of Blood Oranges, canned Italian Tuna and Black Olives. Also,check out Citarella for fresh squeezed Blood orange juice.
BTW... that pasta I mentioned... I think it would get fresh basil or oregano as well... some shaved fennel might also be a luxurious touch for all you sensualists out there... and of course S&P and shaved parmigiano!
Paul,
Why don't you make this pasta, take some photos, and send us the recipe? We'll post it!
Paul,
you are correct. Tarrochi are the true blood oranges. The ones we get from California are called Moro, they are too small but will suffice since Tarocchi are impossible to find.
love love blood oranges. they are my fav. i love them so much i want to grow a tree and i'm serious.
oh, i just bought some of these oranges, and i have some tuna steaks coming from fresh direct. any recipe ideas? i was thinking a blood orange vinaigrette, with a side of white beans and broccoli...
luigi--
i have those exact ingredients malingering in my crisper. would you mind sharing the exact recipe--or at least proportions---for the olive-tuna-blood orange salad? i'm drawing a blank about how to assemble this salad and i have a feeling i'm missing out. thanks!
lisa,
this is a dish i watched my grandmother make, so there is no exact recipe. I put together:
6oz jar italian tuna in olive oil, drained
4 blood oranges peeled membranes removed
1/4 cup chopped oil cured black olives
for the dressing:
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
salt/pepper to taste
let salad sit in the dressing for 30 minutes at room temperature for flavors to blend. just before serving add 1 tablespoon chopped italian parsley. serve as is with rustic bread. or on top of baby arugala
hope you like it
They're so delicious; Gourmet Garage had out a sample basket and I lingered by it for ten minutes eating section after section before I felt silly and bought three. Worth every (expensive!) penny.
luigi--
i made yr salad last night for the girls (sunday night is girls night in at my house) and it was v. well received. thanks so much for posting!
Ok.. so I know this is out of bounds for most, but I'm picking up a whole sack of blood oranges to use for flavoring a wheat beer that I'm going to make for summer festivals.
But since it won't be time for it before the oranges start fading from the farmer's markets around here, I'm going to buy up a bunch of oranges. (Probably 5-10lbs worth) zest them and juice them, freezing them separately for use in late April.
Then when it's time to brew, I'll make a nice light wheat beer with some citrus scented American hops (such as Amarillo) and I'll approach it with a neutral ale yeast. Zest will be thrown into the final minutes of the boil and the juice won't see the beer until it hits the secondary for aging and gentle CO2 evolution.
I assume the zest has the same aromatic qualities as other citrus?