Seasonal oranges and lemons inject some sharpness and colour into your winter plate. Try these fab reader suggestions ...
In a month when fruit is in short supply – in the northern hemisphere at least – seasonal citrus offers a welcome splash of colour. Just a dash of juice or a sprinkling of zest can bring zing to even the most warming of winter dishes – Betty Bee's rib-sticking stew and Anna Thomson's split peas for example – but it was the fresh simplicity of Erum Gulmann's fruit salad, served with a rich, sweetly spiced Indian yoghurt, that stole my heart.
The perfect indulgent weekend breakfast or light January dessert, it's also a good excuse to get acquainted with the aromatic pomelo; as you'll see, they make great savoury salads too.
*Citrus salad with shrikhand*
Winter is prime citrus season and you can find a great variety these days. I usually stick to clementines, my all-time favourite, but this salad forced me out of my comfort zone to try pomelo (for the first time), grapefruit (after a long time), and navel oranges. I forgot how good they can be – it looks like sunshine on a plate!
Erum Gulmann, totalsalads.com
Serves 4
*Variety of citrus fruits (eg 2 clementines, 1 grapefruit, 1 pomelo, 2 navel oranges)*
*2 tsp warm milk*
*½ tsp saffron strands*
*15-20 pistachios*
*6 cardamom pods, seeds only*
*500ml Greek yoghurt*
*4 tbsp icing sugar*
*1 *You can make the shrikhand up to 24 hours before serving. Warm the milk (15 seconds in a microwave does the job) and mix in the saffron. Leave to infuse for about 5-10 minutes. Crush the pistachios with a mortar and pestle, and set aside, then finely crush the cardamom seeds. Stir together the yoghurt, sugar, cardamom and saffron milk.
*2 *Now to make the salad. If you are using clementines, peel and segment. For most other citrus fruits, slice off the top and bottom. Leaving the rest of the peel on, slice the fruit across horizontally into 1cm slices. Remove the peel from each slice by cutting around the fruit in straight lines to make hexagonal or octagonal slices.
Arrange them neatly on plates, adding a generous dollop of shrikhand on top, and finally sprinkle with the crushed pistachios.
*No-bake chestnut and chocolate cake with citrus reduction*
Chestnut is a great natural sweetener, and pureed, it has a smooth and velvety texture. Despite its rich, earthy, nutty flavour, the taste is very delicate, and thus pairs really well with a sharp citrus reduction.
Natalie and Valerie Wong, London, twinnydip.blogspot.co.uk
Serves 12+
For the cake
*250g unsweetened chestnut puree*
*50g sugar*
*90g butter*
*150g dark chocolate*
*50g cocoa powder*
*6 tbsp (about 90g) honey*
*2 tbsp boiling water*
* *For the citrus reduction
*Juice of 5-6 oranges (about 250ml)*
*1 lemon, juice only*
*20g sugar*
*1 *Beat the chestnut puree with the sugar in a mixing bowl until soft. Add the butter and beat until well mixed.
*2 *Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. In a separate bowl, mix together the cocoa, honey and boiling water. Let the melted chocolate cool slightly, then mix in the cocoa powder mixture and stir it into the chestnut batter.
*3 *Line a small round cake tin with clingfilm. Smooth out any creases if possible. Spoon in the mixture, smooth the top, cover and chill until set – 3–4 hours or preferably overnight.
*4 *Half an hour before serving, heat the citrus reduction ingredients in a small pan, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Simmer until syrupy, then cool for 5–10 minutes. Take the cake from the fridge, turn out on to a serving plate, remove the clingfilm and drizzle the syrup on top, or on to individual slices.
*Honey citrus curd*
People who try this curd tend to do a double take; the taste of the original lemon version is extremely delicate and aromatic, with a very low proportion of fat.
Delightful as all this sounds, it is in the variations that this recipe really shines. The ones that I have tried are: lime tree honey with lime juice and zest, and orange blossom honey with sweet or Seville orange juice and zest. The floral aroma of the honey compliments and enriches the citrus to give a taste that borders on the sublime.
Mary-Anne Boermans, timetocookonline.com
Makes 2 jars
*340g jar of runny honey*
*2 large eggs*
*1 large yolk*
*Zest and juice of 1 lemon, lime or orange (see intro)*
*Juice of 1 extra lemon, lime or orange (see intro)*
*45g clarified butter*
*1 *Put the ingredients into a small pan. Whisk on a low heat until thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.
*2 *Pour into the clean, warm jars and seal. Set aside to cool.
*Pomelo citrus salad (rujak jeruk bali)*
This recipe reminds me of when I was younger, and my mother made a little boat from a pomelo skin for me to play with. The flesh of pomelos in Java is usually red or pink, and some of them have distinctive bitter and sour sweet flavour. (NB If you can't find dried shrimp, available from oriental grocers, add fish sauce to taste – FC)
Bobby Ananta, Leicester, bobbyananta.com
* *Makes 4 large portions
*1 pomelo (about 2kg)*
*1 cucumber*
*1 sour mango*
*1 pomegranate*
*Juice of 2 limes*
*Coriander leaves and fried peanuts, to serve*
* *For the bumbu rujak dressing
*2 red chillies*
*5 tbsp palm sugar*
*2 tbsp caster sugar*
*1 tsp salt*
*2 tbsp rice wine vinegar*
*4 tbsp walnut oil*
*Juice of 1 lime*
*5 dried shrimp, fried*
*1 *Cut the peel from the pomelo and break up the flesh into large pieces with your fingers. Shred the cucumber and mango in a food processor, or using a sharp knife. Mix with the remaining salad ingredients except for the garnish.
*2 *For the bumbu rujak, whizz all the ingredients together in the blender or food processor. Toss it through the salad and serve with coriander leaves and fried peanuts.
*Lemon, garlic and ginger scented split peas*
Delicious hot served with brown rice and some leafy greens, or cold the following day when it might need an extra squeeze of lemon. If you soak the peas in clean water overnight they will cook more quickly.
Anna Thomson, Totnes, Devon
Serves 4
*400g yellow split peas*
*A good glug of olive oil*
*3-4 garlic cloves, grated or finely chopped*
*½ tsp each ground cumin and coriander*
*Zest of 1 lemon*
*2cm piece ginger, grated*
* *For the dressing
*4 tbsp olive oil*
*Juice of 1 lemon*
*1 small garlic clove, minced*
*Handful coriander leaves, chopped*
*Sliced red chilli (optional)*
*1 *Rinse and drain the split peas. If soaking, leave in clean water overnight. Put them in a large pan with plenty of water and cook until tender, but be careful not to overcook; the peas should still retain their shape. Drain and rinse with cold water.
*2 *While the peas are cooking, make the dressing by combining all the ingredients in a bowl.
*3 *Heat the olive oil in a frying pan, add the chopped garlic and spices and fry for a few seconds until fragrant, taking care not to brown the garlic. Add the cooked split peas, stir to coat with the garlicky oil; then mix in the lemon zest and ginger. Remove from the heat, add the dressing and mix together well. Serve immediately.
*Citrus veal ragout*
This is warming, comforting winter food, but the lime, grapefruit and orange make it brighter and fresher than your average stew. The slow cooking turns the meat a beautiful pearly-pink colour, meltingly tender and soft. (NB If veal shoulder is hard to come by, use beef shoulder. It will take about twice as long to cook until tender, but still tastes great – FC)
Betty Bee, via GuardianWitness
Serves 4
*Olive oil, to cook*
*1kg veal shoulder, cubed*
*4 shallots, peeled and chopped*
*4 leeks, chopped into 4cm lengths*
*100ml white wine*
*300ml vegetable stock*
*Zest and juice of 1 lime*
*Zest and juice of 1 grapefruit*
*Zest and juice of 1 orange*
*1 sprig of rosemary*
*2 sprigs of thyme*
*A handful of parsley, finely chopped*
*1 *Heat a good glug of oil in a large pan. Brown the meat in batches, being careful not to overcrowd the pan. Scoop out the meat, set it aside, add the shallots and leeks to the pan and cook for 5 minutes.
*2 *Add the wine and stock to the pan and scrape the bottom to deglaze it. Replace the meat, sprinkle with the citrus zests and herbs and bring the contents of the pan to the boil. Turn the heat down, cover and then simmer gently for about 45 minutes, or until tender.
*3 *Remove the meat and vegetables from the pan and place in a serving dish. Discard the herbs. Add the citrus juice to the pan, bring to the boil and then reduce until you have a syrup with which you can coat the reserved meat and vegetables. Sprinkle over the parsley, season, and serve. Reported by guardian.co.uk 18 hours ago.
In a month when fruit is in short supply – in the northern hemisphere at least – seasonal citrus offers a welcome splash of colour. Just a dash of juice or a sprinkling of zest can bring zing to even the most warming of winter dishes – Betty Bee's rib-sticking stew and Anna Thomson's split peas for example – but it was the fresh simplicity of Erum Gulmann's fruit salad, served with a rich, sweetly spiced Indian yoghurt, that stole my heart.
The perfect indulgent weekend breakfast or light January dessert, it's also a good excuse to get acquainted with the aromatic pomelo; as you'll see, they make great savoury salads too.
*Citrus salad with shrikhand*
Winter is prime citrus season and you can find a great variety these days. I usually stick to clementines, my all-time favourite, but this salad forced me out of my comfort zone to try pomelo (for the first time), grapefruit (after a long time), and navel oranges. I forgot how good they can be – it looks like sunshine on a plate!
Erum Gulmann, totalsalads.com
Serves 4
*Variety of citrus fruits (eg 2 clementines, 1 grapefruit, 1 pomelo, 2 navel oranges)*
*2 tsp warm milk*
*½ tsp saffron strands*
*15-20 pistachios*
*6 cardamom pods, seeds only*
*500ml Greek yoghurt*
*4 tbsp icing sugar*
*1 *You can make the shrikhand up to 24 hours before serving. Warm the milk (15 seconds in a microwave does the job) and mix in the saffron. Leave to infuse for about 5-10 minutes. Crush the pistachios with a mortar and pestle, and set aside, then finely crush the cardamom seeds. Stir together the yoghurt, sugar, cardamom and saffron milk.
*2 *Now to make the salad. If you are using clementines, peel and segment. For most other citrus fruits, slice off the top and bottom. Leaving the rest of the peel on, slice the fruit across horizontally into 1cm slices. Remove the peel from each slice by cutting around the fruit in straight lines to make hexagonal or octagonal slices.
Arrange them neatly on plates, adding a generous dollop of shrikhand on top, and finally sprinkle with the crushed pistachios.
*No-bake chestnut and chocolate cake with citrus reduction*
Chestnut is a great natural sweetener, and pureed, it has a smooth and velvety texture. Despite its rich, earthy, nutty flavour, the taste is very delicate, and thus pairs really well with a sharp citrus reduction.
Natalie and Valerie Wong, London, twinnydip.blogspot.co.uk
Serves 12+
For the cake
*250g unsweetened chestnut puree*
*50g sugar*
*90g butter*
*150g dark chocolate*
*50g cocoa powder*
*6 tbsp (about 90g) honey*
*2 tbsp boiling water*
* *For the citrus reduction
*Juice of 5-6 oranges (about 250ml)*
*1 lemon, juice only*
*20g sugar*
*1 *Beat the chestnut puree with the sugar in a mixing bowl until soft. Add the butter and beat until well mixed.
*2 *Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. In a separate bowl, mix together the cocoa, honey and boiling water. Let the melted chocolate cool slightly, then mix in the cocoa powder mixture and stir it into the chestnut batter.
*3 *Line a small round cake tin with clingfilm. Smooth out any creases if possible. Spoon in the mixture, smooth the top, cover and chill until set – 3–4 hours or preferably overnight.
*4 *Half an hour before serving, heat the citrus reduction ingredients in a small pan, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Simmer until syrupy, then cool for 5–10 minutes. Take the cake from the fridge, turn out on to a serving plate, remove the clingfilm and drizzle the syrup on top, or on to individual slices.
*Honey citrus curd*
People who try this curd tend to do a double take; the taste of the original lemon version is extremely delicate and aromatic, with a very low proportion of fat.
Delightful as all this sounds, it is in the variations that this recipe really shines. The ones that I have tried are: lime tree honey with lime juice and zest, and orange blossom honey with sweet or Seville orange juice and zest. The floral aroma of the honey compliments and enriches the citrus to give a taste that borders on the sublime.
Mary-Anne Boermans, timetocookonline.com
Makes 2 jars
*340g jar of runny honey*
*2 large eggs*
*1 large yolk*
*Zest and juice of 1 lemon, lime or orange (see intro)*
*Juice of 1 extra lemon, lime or orange (see intro)*
*45g clarified butter*
*1 *Put the ingredients into a small pan. Whisk on a low heat until thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.
*2 *Pour into the clean, warm jars and seal. Set aside to cool.
*Pomelo citrus salad (rujak jeruk bali)*
This recipe reminds me of when I was younger, and my mother made a little boat from a pomelo skin for me to play with. The flesh of pomelos in Java is usually red or pink, and some of them have distinctive bitter and sour sweet flavour. (NB If you can't find dried shrimp, available from oriental grocers, add fish sauce to taste – FC)
Bobby Ananta, Leicester, bobbyananta.com
* *Makes 4 large portions
*1 pomelo (about 2kg)*
*1 cucumber*
*1 sour mango*
*1 pomegranate*
*Juice of 2 limes*
*Coriander leaves and fried peanuts, to serve*
* *For the bumbu rujak dressing
*2 red chillies*
*5 tbsp palm sugar*
*2 tbsp caster sugar*
*1 tsp salt*
*2 tbsp rice wine vinegar*
*4 tbsp walnut oil*
*Juice of 1 lime*
*5 dried shrimp, fried*
*1 *Cut the peel from the pomelo and break up the flesh into large pieces with your fingers. Shred the cucumber and mango in a food processor, or using a sharp knife. Mix with the remaining salad ingredients except for the garnish.
*2 *For the bumbu rujak, whizz all the ingredients together in the blender or food processor. Toss it through the salad and serve with coriander leaves and fried peanuts.
*Lemon, garlic and ginger scented split peas*
Delicious hot served with brown rice and some leafy greens, or cold the following day when it might need an extra squeeze of lemon. If you soak the peas in clean water overnight they will cook more quickly.
Anna Thomson, Totnes, Devon
Serves 4
*400g yellow split peas*
*A good glug of olive oil*
*3-4 garlic cloves, grated or finely chopped*
*½ tsp each ground cumin and coriander*
*Zest of 1 lemon*
*2cm piece ginger, grated*
* *For the dressing
*4 tbsp olive oil*
*Juice of 1 lemon*
*1 small garlic clove, minced*
*Handful coriander leaves, chopped*
*Sliced red chilli (optional)*
*1 *Rinse and drain the split peas. If soaking, leave in clean water overnight. Put them in a large pan with plenty of water and cook until tender, but be careful not to overcook; the peas should still retain their shape. Drain and rinse with cold water.
*2 *While the peas are cooking, make the dressing by combining all the ingredients in a bowl.
*3 *Heat the olive oil in a frying pan, add the chopped garlic and spices and fry for a few seconds until fragrant, taking care not to brown the garlic. Add the cooked split peas, stir to coat with the garlicky oil; then mix in the lemon zest and ginger. Remove from the heat, add the dressing and mix together well. Serve immediately.
*Citrus veal ragout*
This is warming, comforting winter food, but the lime, grapefruit and orange make it brighter and fresher than your average stew. The slow cooking turns the meat a beautiful pearly-pink colour, meltingly tender and soft. (NB If veal shoulder is hard to come by, use beef shoulder. It will take about twice as long to cook until tender, but still tastes great – FC)
Betty Bee, via GuardianWitness
Serves 4
*Olive oil, to cook*
*1kg veal shoulder, cubed*
*4 shallots, peeled and chopped*
*4 leeks, chopped into 4cm lengths*
*100ml white wine*
*300ml vegetable stock*
*Zest and juice of 1 lime*
*Zest and juice of 1 grapefruit*
*Zest and juice of 1 orange*
*1 sprig of rosemary*
*2 sprigs of thyme*
*A handful of parsley, finely chopped*
*1 *Heat a good glug of oil in a large pan. Brown the meat in batches, being careful not to overcrowd the pan. Scoop out the meat, set it aside, add the shallots and leeks to the pan and cook for 5 minutes.
*2 *Add the wine and stock to the pan and scrape the bottom to deglaze it. Replace the meat, sprinkle with the citrus zests and herbs and bring the contents of the pan to the boil. Turn the heat down, cover and then simmer gently for about 45 minutes, or until tender.
*3 *Remove the meat and vegetables from the pan and place in a serving dish. Discard the herbs. Add the citrus juice to the pan, bring to the boil and then reduce until you have a syrup with which you can coat the reserved meat and vegetables. Sprinkle over the parsley, season, and serve. Reported by guardian.co.uk 18 hours ago.