Orange, in every flavour it has

Winter belongs to citrus. These juicy fruits, fresh and unmistakable, keep us waiting all summer, and once they arrive they deserve their due. Here are six orange recipes, savoury through to sweet.

Green salad with orange

Ingredients

• One good lettuce
• 2 cucumbers
• 3 tomatoes
• 1 avocado (if you can)
• 2 oranges

Method

1. Wash the lettuce and tear the leaves roughly.
2. Peel the cucumbers lightly and slice them into medium rounds.
3. Cut the tomatoes into half-moons.
4. Peel the avocado and the oranges, then cut them into medium cubes.
5. Toss everything in a salad bowl with salt, pepper and a thread of oil (optional, as the juice of the oranges is enough on its own).

Wonderfully fresh, and no reason to hold back.

Orange cutlets

Ingredients

• 6 good cutlets
• The juice and zest of one orange
• Salt and black pepper
• One teaspoon of dried mint
• A thread of olive oil

Method

1. In a bowl, combine the orange juice and zest with the dried mint, then season with salt and pepper.
2. Leave the cutlets to steep in this mixture for 15 minutes. Pour a thread of olive oil into a very hot pan and grill the cutlets.
3. Serve with risotto.

Superb.

Sautéed lamb with orange

Ingredients

• 1 kg of lamb
• 100 g of raisins
• 100 g of flaked almonds
• 1 bouquet garni (1 carrot, 1 bay leaf, a stick of celery)
• 1 green pepper
• One teaspoon of ginger
• 3 cloves
• 3 tablespoons of oil
• 1 lemon
• 2 oranges
• ½ bunch of parsley, finely chopped
• A few stuffed olives, whichever filling you like (optional)

Method

1. Squeeze the lemon and the oranges, pour the juice into a bowl and leave the raisins to soak in it. Set aside.
2. Trim the fat from the meat.
3. Brown the pieces of meat in a sauté pan with a little oil, then pour off the fat left in the bottom.
4. Cut the pepper into thin strips, add them to the meat, cover with water and cook over a low heat for 20 minutes.
5. Now add the bouquet garni, the ginger, the cloves, the raisins, the flaked almonds and the juice, then season with salt and pepper. The stuffed olives can go in at this point too.
6. Cover and cook over a low heat until the sauce turns velvety.
7. To serve, pour the sauce into the serving dish and scatter generously with parsley.

Tip: serve this dish with buttered rice on the side. A real treat.

Chocolate and orange cake

Ingredients

• 125 g of butter
• 125 g of chocolate
• 250 g of sugar
• 1 sachet of baking powder
• 2 oranges
• 4 eggs

Method

1. Heat the oven to 150 °C.
2. Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie, then the butter.
3. Peel one orange, chop the peel into small pieces and set it aside.
4. Squeeze both oranges and keep the juice.
5. Separate the yolks from the whites, then beat the yolks with the sugar.
6. Add the chocolate, the melted butter, the juice and the chopped peel. Mix well, working in the flour a little at a time.
7. Whisk the whites to stiff peaks and fold them gently into the mixture with a spatula, lifting as you go.
8. Butter a tin and pour in the mixture.
9. Bake for about 20 minutes (test with the blade of a knife).

Orange savarin

Ingredients

• 6 oranges for the juice
• The zest of 4 oranges
• 4 eggs
• 100 g of sugar
• 90 g of flour
• 30 g of baking powder
• 6 tablespoons of oil

Method

1. Heat the oven to 150 °C.
2. In a mixing bowl, spread the flour and baking powder into a well; into the centre go the sugar, the oil, the orange zest and two eggs. Mix.
3. Add the two remaining eggs and mix to a smooth batter.
4. Butter a savarin tin (the ring-shaped one) and pour in the batter, filling it only two thirds of the way so it does not spill over.
5. Bake at a moderate heat to begin with, then in a hot oven until the cake is a good golden colour.
6. Once you have checked it is baked through, douse the cake with the orange juice and return it to the still-hot oven for 5 minutes.
7. Take it out, let it cool a little, then turn it out of the tin.
8. Decorate with thin orange slices and enjoy.

With both cakes, always test with the blade of a knife: it should come out clean.

Orange syrup

Ingredients

• 6 oranges
• 500 g of sugar
• ¼ litre of water

Method

1. Peel the oranges and keep the zest.
2. In a pan, cook the water and sugar over a high heat for 5 minutes.
3. Add the orange juice and let it bubble briefly.
4. Take the pan off the heat, pour the syrup over the washed zest and leave it to cool.
5. Once completely cool, strain the syrup and keep it in glass bottles.

Enjoy.