The best part of winter in Italy: gorgeous Sicilian blood oranges! When they cost about 3 Euro/kilo, we buy them by the case. Whoever wakes up first starts the caffè and starts squeezing!! The flavor is sweet and almost like a smoothie, the color brilliant & bright and they are only here for about 2 short months and then gone until next February!
A few of our favorite recipes include:
Arancello (Blood Orange Liquor) - if you like Limoncello, you're going to LOVE this!
Fennel & Blood Orange Salad - light & fresh
1 bulb of fennel, cut in 1/2 and remove core
2-3 blood oranges
salt & pepper
3 glugs of extra virgin olive oil
Slice fennel as this as possible (use a food slicer or mandolin if available).
Peel & supreme the oranges. Save the extra pulp & squeeze the remaining juice into the bowl.
Mix sliced fennel, juice from the pulp & oranges - season with salt & pepper.
Drizzle with olive oil & toss.
Let stand for 10 minutes then serve.
Orange Lavender Cake - for breakfast and/or dessert!
1/2 cup (single-serving container) of plain yogurt
1 cup flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1/2 a tablespoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon lavender, chopped finely
1 tablespoon orange zest, chopped finely
Preheat your oven to 425°F and get a 9" round cake pan or 8"x4" loaf pan ready by generously buttering it.
1. Combine all your ingredients.
2. Mix with a wire whisk until you get a smooth batter (careful not to overmix), then pour into your pan.
3. Bake for 30 minutes.
Ashley Bartner is the Living in Italy Editor for Wandering Educators. You can find her recipes and photos at:
http://www.latavolamarche.com
http://latavolamarche.blogspot.com
All photos and video courtesy and copyright La Tavola Marche
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