SFist In The Kitchen: Blood Oranges
[Ed. Note: Oh, we are so happy right now. New SFist Derrick of Obsession with Food just wrote a wonderful pair of recipes that would make the perfect wintry, local feast. Since the Trimethyldioxypurist is off in the hinterlands this week, we wanted to get this up right away. So please welcome a new foodie to the table. Bon appetit!]
We're getting a bit tired of winter's oranges, but juicy, so-red-they're-violet blood oranges caught our attention at the Civic Center Farmer's Market and we had to buy some. We like the hallmark taste that most describe as a blend of oranges and raspberries, even if we have to deal with a bit more bitterness than we'd get from normal oranges. If the purported health benefits of the anthocyanins that create that ruby-red color help stave off the cold that's going around, so much the better.
Want the darkest possible sample? In Chez Panisse Fruits, Alice Waters suggests that Moro blood oranges from California's inland valleys and desert seem to have the deepest color, but there's always the chance you'll cut open a blood orange and find that it just looks, well, orange.
Maybe it's trite of us to suggest you use blood orange slices in a salad with regular oranges, baby spinach, and a crumbly blue cheese, but the vibrant colors might help you forget the rainy days for a little while. Besides, why argue with a good thing?
For a less common dish, marinate Muscovy duck breasts in lightly salted blood orange juice for an hour and then glaze them with a blood orange-star anise reduction while you pan sear and roast them until rare. We liked the way the weighty feel, orange blossom aromas and crisp acidity of an Alsatian Gewurztraminer went with this dish. If local restaurants are any indication, we think there's a law that requires you to fan duck breasts on a bed of sauteed greens. But we can't deny it makes for a pretty plate. Recipes past the jump.
Photo and recipes copyright Derrick Schneider.
Recipes:
Roasted Duck Breast with a Blood Orange Glaze
(serves two)
Choose the reddest of the blood oranges for the glaze.
For the marinade:
- 3/4 cup blood orange juice (approximately 3 blood oranges)
- 2 tsp kosher salt.
- 1 sealable plastic bag
For the glaze:
- 3/4 cup blood orange juice
- a generous pinch of sugar
- 4 star anise
- a small pot
- a pastry brush
For the duck:
- 1 full Muscovy or Mulard duck breast, deboned, cut in half, fat trimmed somewhat
- a skillet
- a rimmed cookie sheet
For the greens:
- 3 or 4 big handfuls of baby spinach
- 1 white onion
Combine the duck breast, 3/4 cup blood orange juice and salt in a plastic bag and seal tightly. Marinade for at least an hour, perodically flipping the bag over and pushing the marinade around. Preheat your oven to 400°
Meanwhile, wash and dry the spinach, and slice the onion thinly. Put 3/4 cup blood orange juice, sugar and 4 star anise into a pot and simmer until reduced by 2/3 or until the liquid pours off a spoon in a thin stream. Skim the foam from the surface as the juice reduces.
When the duck is done marinating, heat a skillet over medium high heat. Remove the duck breasts from the marinade, and score the skin with a couple diagonal slashes. Put skin side down into the pan, and sear until a lovely brown color. Flip the duck breast over and sear the meat side. Remove the duck breasts from the pan and place on a rimmed cookie sheet, skin side down. Don't remove the pan, but do turn off the heat. Brush duck breast with glaze. Place in oven until rare, about 5-7 minutes, brushing with glaze every couple of minutes.
Remove duck breast from oven, brush with glaze, and place on a plate. Cover duck loosely with foil and let rest for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, reheat the skillet over medium-high heat. There should still be a good amount of duck fat in the pan. Toss in the onion and sauté until translucent, about two minutes. Add spinach and cook a minute more until spinach wilts slightly. Season with salt and pepper, and remove from heat. When duck breast is done resting, brush with glaze again and slice diagonally into five or six slices. Put spinach and onion mixture into the center of a plate, and lay duck breast pieces around the edge, overlapping the tops slightly to make a fan. If there's glaze left, spoon onto the plate.