SFist in the Kitchen: Kumquats
Little. Orange. Different.
Winter is on its way out—you can tell by the storms and hail—but before you bid adieu to citrus, hunt down some oh-so-cute kumquats at your local market. The tiny fruits started to appear at one of the markets we visit, and they should be around for a month or two. We've only seen the Meiwa variety, but the Nagami is more common. Both thrum with potent orange flavors, but kumquat gurus prefer the Meiwa's taste.
Want a handy snack? Rinse whole kumquats and then pop them into your mouth, skin, seeds, and all. The eye-crossing acidity and aromatic flesh remind us of Sweet-Tarts, but without the sugar and weird flavorings. If you want kumquats on your dinner plate, cut them crosswise into pretty pinwheels. Tease out the hard seeds as you go so you don't dull your knife, and add them to your meals.
Like their citrus cousins (they're in a different genus), they complement fennel, endive, and other veggies that straddle winter and spring. We made a crunchy combination of kumquat slices, truffled pecorino, thinly shaved fennel, and paper-thin pieces of apple, and served it as a counterpoint to roast pork tenderloin. The meaty pork and potent orange aromas want a European Gewurztraminer, but we decided to drink a delicate rosé Champagne to celebrate the publication of SFist photographer Melissa's big photo gig.
We found the inspiration for another kumquatty dinner in Chez Panisse Fruit. The book's kumquat-spring onion relish added chunky texture and vibrant flavors to olive-oil-poached salmon and Phoenix Pastificio's Meyer Lemon pasta. We chilled a minerally and spicy Grüner Veltliner to accompany this dish, but only because the flowery dry Muscat on our wine rack was past its prime.
If you lean towards sweets (who doesn't), kumquat slices can be candied and served on ice cream or in cakes.
Buy some now and enjoy the big taste of these little fruits.