FOOD WITH MIGUEL MAESTRE Miguel travels to The Riverina, Australia s largest citrus growing region to cook a Blood Orange Dessert for the Mancini family, the owners of Redbelly Citrus. BLOOD ORANGES Known for their distinctive crimson colouring and naturally sweet citrus flavour, blood oranges are just the ingredient to add a splash of colour and zing to winter and spring recipes. They have a strong citrus base flavour with distinct notes of raspberry. The Australian blood orange season runs from late July through to November. Early season blood oranges are quite tart which makes them perfect for use in savoury dishes in combination with fish, poultry and pork in particular. The red flesh and juice of the fruit offers a unique freshness that cuts
right through heavy flavours. Early season blood oranges can also be used in place of lemons and limes in things such as cocktails and curds. Towards the middle and end of the season the tartness ebbs away allowing the raspberry notes to shine through making blood oranges ideal for delicate desserts, jams, preserves and jellies. Blood oranges boast many health benefits. They re packed full of antioxidants and vitamin C. Their red colour is a result of anthocyanins, which have been proven to have a range of incredible health benefits, including fighting the accumulation of fat. Redbelly blood oranges are available at most independent grocers, fruit stores and fresh fruit markets. RED BELLY CITRUS Redbelly Citrus is Australia s premium producer of blood oranges with a 30,000 tree orchard spread across 100 acres. They produce more blood oranges than Australia eats and export the excess to USA. They have been growing blood oranges for 10 years. Grown in the heart of prime citrus country in the Riverina, Redbelly was established by third generation citrus growers Anthony, Vito and Len Mancini. Anthony and Len s grandparents migrated to Australia from Sicily, Calabria and Puglia in the 1950s bringing with them more than 100 years of citrus farming practices. The family has always had a colourful kinship with the blood orange. Sicily has long been regarded as the sacred home of the blood orange. Its warm days and cool nights match almost exactly the climate of the best blood orange growing regions of the Riverina, giving Redbelly blood oranges a distinct flavour that is reminiscent of Sicilian blood oranges.
BLOOD ORANGE FACTS: Blood oranges get their bloody appearance from anthocyanins a powerful antioxidant that also gives blueberries, purple carrots and red onions their colour. The colour of blood oranges develops after dark, needing cool overnight temperatures. The concentration of the red inside the fruit depends on the particular type of blood orange and the conditions it was grown in. Blood oranges are native to Sicily and come from a large family, like most Italians, which boasts more than 15 varieties. Blood oranges also originated in Spain. Blood oranges are versatile in cooking and can be used for savoury as well as sweet dishes.
BLOOD ORANGE CRÈME CARAMEL CAKE Prep time: 30 minutes Cooking time: 45 minutes Serves: 12 Ingredients Caramel 220g caster sugar ½ tablespoon orange juice Water Crème Caramel 625mL milk
2 vanilla beans, split, scraped out Finely grated rind of 2 oranges 3 eggs 2 egg yolks 160g icing sugar Cake 1 eggs 65 sugar 60g softened butter 185 all-purpose flour ½ teaspoon baking powder Juice and zest of 1 orange Juice of ½ lemon Method 1. Preheat oven to 170 fan forced. 2. To make caramel, stir sugar and water in a medium-sized heavy based saucepan over medium heat, without boiling, until sugar dissolves. Use a wet pastry brush to brush any stray grains on side of pan back down into mixture begins to turn light golden brown. Add juice. Stir until dissolved. 3. Pour caramel into the dish. Allow to set. 4. To make the custard, stir milk, vanilla beans and seeds and rind in a medium saucepan over low heat until boiling. Remove from heat. Stand for 5 minutes. Remove vanilla beans. 5. Lightly whisk eggs, egg yolks and sifted icing sugar in a medium-sized bowl until combined. 6. Gradually whisk milk mixture into egg mixture. Pour into serving dish. 7. With an electric mixer beat all ingredients together until a smooth cake batter forms. 8. Add batter on top of sugar and crème caramel mix. 9. Place cake tin in a bain marie and bake for about 45 or until a wooden pick inserted in the middle comes out with just a few moist crumbs on it. 10. Cool to room temperature and then refrigerate overnight.
11. Before serving, bring cake to room temperature. Place the cake pan on the same roasting pan you used before, and fill it halfway up again with boiling water for 1 minute, then lift the pan up and dry the sides, softening the caramel. 12. Invert the cake pan onto the serving plate so that the sugar caramel syrup drizzling over the cake. Decorate with candied orange peel if desired (see recipe below). CANDIED ORANGE PEEL Prep time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 1 hour plus cooling and drying time Ingredients 2 large oranges 4 cups caster sugar 3 cups water Method 1. This recipe takes a day or two to make, so plan ahead. 2. Peel large strips of peel off the orange, including the white pith. Cut the pieces of peel into strips that are 1/2cm wide. 3. Bring the sugar and water to a boil in a medium sized saucepan over a medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. 4. Add peel to the sugar syrup and return to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 1 hour, or until peel is very soft. Drain. 5. Lay peel out on a cooling rack for 3 hours, so it is still slightly sticky. Toss the peel in 1 cup of caster sugar until crusted in sugar, shaking off excess, and return to cooling rack. 6. Leave to dry overnight until coating is dry.
WEBLINKS For further information on Redbelly Citrus take a look at the following website: http://redbellycitrus.com.au