Kate’s Cooking: Working With Oranges

Hello there and greetings to you. Today we will look at two recipes that involve one of the best fruits you can eat – the wonderful ORANGE. What a gift this fruit is. From the inner to the outer skin – orange zest (grated rind) is terrific for flavors and of course the fruit is super-beneficial for its quantity of vitamin C, juice and great taste. Oranges are easy to grow nowadays. Apart from growing them outside in your garden that maybe in the sunnier climates around our great planet, they can be grown in large garden containers on a patio or porch or by your backdoor. I have seen some wonderful examples of oranges grown like this. So here are two interesting and useful recipes using oranges. They are simple and the first one is a fish dish which is nice for lunch with an accompanying salad of choice. The other is great for dessert and is nice with vanilla icecream or used by itself with flavored whipped cream or simply by itself.


BAKED FISH and ORANGES

4 fish fillets
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 oranges – juiced and the rind grated
a sprinkle of black pepper
1 small onion – grated or chopped finely
½ cup grated cheese
1 cup fresh (preferably brown) breadcrumbs
2 to 3 tablespoons margarine

Rinse the fish and place in a greased ovenproof dish. Combine cinnamon, grated orange rind, black pepper, onion, cheese and breadcrumbs and sprinkle over fish. Pour orange juice over fish and dot margarine. Bake in a moderate oven until fish is done. Serve hot although this fish dish (without the breadcrumbs) makes a nice fish sandwich.
BAKED ORANGES

6 good sized oranges
½ to 1 cup soft brown sugar
5 or 6 cloves
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon liqueur (own choice)

Peel the oranges, removing as much pith as you can. Divide them into segments, removing any pips. Place the segments into an ovenproof dish (a round dish looks good), placing the sugar and cloves between layers (here and there around the dish). Cover and set aside for about an hour. Cook in a moderately hot oven about 90C or Gas 5 for about 40 minutes, until oranges are nice and soft. When done, leave to cool with the lid on. Finally, sprinkle oranges with the lemon juice and liqueur.

The dessert dish is especially yummy. It is so simple and great to serve if you have visitors in for a meal. I really like the fish dish too. We should eat more fish. I know that in some areas fish can be expensive but do try and eat 2 fish meals a week if you can, certainly one. The benefits of eating fish are widely known especially when it comes to heart health. Of course, as mentioned earlier, oranges are a magnificent fruit and if you can do try and grow your own orange tree.

Well that’s it for this week. Take care out there, wherever you are on our great planet. Be well, safe and happy.

Happy cooking. Cheers, Kate.