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Food for Thought Friday: 3 ways to maximize orange season 🍊
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Happy Friday, friend!
It’s orange season! Here in California, the citrus varieties are POPPIN at the farmers markets & grocery stores, and since citrus travels better than some other fruits and veg, I’m hoping they’re plentiful where you are too! This week we got some cara cara oranges from our “orange guy” at the farmers market, and my husband was eating about 3 a day and couldn’t stop telling me how delicious they are. He doesn’t usually get as excited as I do about produce, so whenever he goes on and on about something, you know it’s gotta be good.
Of course, I love all the varieties of orange-citrus as a tasty, peel-able snack, but there are tons of fun things you can do with citrus, and it’s best to do them this time of year when the oranges are freshest and juiciest! So here are three ideas of fun ways to eat and cook with oranges!
1. Roast them! I’ve mentioned this recipe before, but gotta mention it again because it is seriously magic and SO simple: Roasted Fennel, Red Onion, and Oranges. You keep the rind on and roast orange pieces with red onion and fennel. The oranges get kinda caramelized and nicely chewy at the rind, AND still add a pop of juiciness to this warm and toasty roast. See the before and after photos just below.
I might also try roasting some oranges with romanesco (the fancy-looking cauliflower cousin)… seems like it would be a good pairing, maybe with some coriander seeds, fresh herbs, and a squeeze of lemon on top.
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2. Add to salads! I love both fruit AND a pop of juiciness in my salads, and orange pieces hit both those cravings. You can definitely peel them and put the pieces in, either whole or cut in halves. (Peeling clementines would be a great dinner prep task for little helpers if you have them around!) However, if you want a prettier plate like these two below, I like to cut off the outer peel + pith (the first step of “supreming” an orange, see this video), and then slice into circles or pieces (remove any seeds before adding the oranges to your salad).
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It’s a bit more time consuming and messier (though not nearly as time consuming as a full "supreming"), but it looks SO pretty, it’s worth a try at least once or twice. I usually eat the little bits of orange flesh off the peels I take off (chef's snack!) - but these would also be great to add to a pitcher of water for some lovely flavored water!
Here are two oranges-in-salad pairings I enjoyed this week. Both work great on a base of lettuce, chicories, arugula, or spinach:
A) oranges, toasted walnuts, goat cheese, balsamic vinegar and olive oil
B) oranges, avocado, toasted nuts, pickled onions, rice wine vinegar and olive oil, maybe a dollop of yogurt or coconut yogurt if you have it!
IF you can find them, and for a BIG BEAUTIFUL BOWL, use cara cara oranges or blood oranges like I did for these photos! Each of these varieties also have a uniquely scrumptious flavor.
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3) Use fresh orange juice/zest in a sauce
Oranges are a great way to add a little natural sweetness to a sauce! Here are two recipes I have my eye on to try soon. I wrote them out for you below because they are actually kinda tricky to pull from these recipes the way they are written:
Orange Tahini Dressing from this Roast Squash & Chickpea Salad recipe
- zest of 1 orange
- juice of 1/2-1 orange
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons tahini
Add everything to a jar and whisk gently with a fork to combine. Add salt and pepper, taste and adjust as needed.
Orange-Lemon "Marinade" from this Carrot Avocado Salad on Food52
I'm gonna try using this as a dressing, adding more olive oil if needed and maybe a tsp of dijon, tahini, or yogurt to help it hold together.
The recipe says to combine all of these in a blender (without mincing the garlic), but I'd mince the garlic, throw everything in a jar and shake it vigorously until well-blended. Then season with salt and pepper and taste & adjust as needed:
- 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp fresh orange juice
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 medium garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1 tsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- salt and pepper to taste
And there you go - a few ideas to add a little sunny orange brightness (and vitamin C!) to your winter eating.
Happy Friday!
love,
Jess
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All photos are taken by me and recipes written by me, unless otherwise noted.
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Hi, I'm Jess! I help health-conscious, busy people transform their cooking from chore to lifestyle through intuitive cooking, which I teach through online classes, free content, coaching and more. This is my newsletter, Food for Thought Fridays, where I share highly actionable tips and inspiration to help you cook more intuitively (which makes cooking feel easier and SO much more fun!). Once a month or more, I share a recipe that's really worth making, and I only share those with my email subscribers. Sometimes the text above may include affiliate links, meaning (at no additional cost to you) I get a commission if you click through and make a purchase. This helps me to continue to share free content, so I would love it if you buy through my link! Thank you for supporting Garlic Press Jess!
I currently work + live on land that is the unceded territory of the Ramaytush Ohlone. And I can't wait to eat at Cafe Ohlone when they reopen someday! Check out this article about them.
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