Thursday, November 23, 2006

Bloody!!!!!!!!

You know how accidents happen in the kitchen, be it burns from the oven, scalds from that hot pot of stock, or cuts from the paring knife. This is what I 'collected' from my cut recently....

Okay, I was just jesting. Don't hit me yet, read on for my post dedicated to Weekend Herb Blogging this week, which is hosted by Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything At Least Once. Do also check out Kalyn's Kitchen, where WHB originated from.

The spoonful of liquid is actually the juice from the following fruit:

These blood oranges are from my neighbourhood supermarket, something unusual in a sense, since here we usually get 'exotic' fruits like raspberries and cranberries in the more 'up-market' supermarkets. So when I saw these blood oranges, into my shopping trolley they went. What's more, these are seasonal!

A comparison between these and the regular oranges.

Blood oranges are different from the regular oranges in that they contain a pigment called anthocyanin, which accounts for the deep red to purplish flesh. There are 3 types of blood oranges - Tarocco, Moro and the Sanguigno. They differ in size, the color and texture of the skin, as well as colour of the flesh. The ones I bought are pretty small, about 3/4 the size of regular oranges, has patches of red skin, though the flesh is not entirely blood red, more like uneven distribution of orange and purple.

Armed with my new recipe book Donna Hay's Modern Classics Book 2, I tried out the recipe for Lemon Curd, replacing the lemon juice with blood orange juice. After cooking, the colour of the juice 'mellowed' to a very light magenta. To serve this sweet yet slightly tangy curd, I modified the recipe(in the same book) for Macaroon Pastry cases and made some Blood Orange Curd Tartlets.

There are various other ways to use blood oranges. Use the juice for mixing cocktails and sauces, or cut into segments and dress up a salad. Or better still, make a marmalade with it for a glorious colour. Have fun experimenting while these are in season from November to about May.

Below are my modified versions of both recipes.

For tartlet base(modified from Donna Hay’s Modern Classics Book 2)

40g dessicated coconut
50g ground almond
40g fine caster sugar
1 egg white

1) Grease 14 x 2.5cm fluted tart tins*
2) Mix all the ingredients together.
3) Cover with cling wrap and refrigerate for 15 mins
4) Divide the dough into 14 pieces. Press each piece onto the bottom and up the sides of the tins.
5) Bake in a pre-heated 160C oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
6) Remove from tins, cool and fill with orange curd. If not using cases immediately, store in an air-tight container.

* The original recipe calls for 3 x 10cm tart tins with removable bases. The reason became clear when I tried to remove them from the tins. These tartlets harden very quickly once out of the oven, making them difficult to remove, despite greasing the tins. What I did was to turn off the oven once the tartlets are done, but leave the tins inside. Remove them one by one. In this way, they are still slightly soft due to the heat, making them easier to pry from the tin. But removable bases would b most ideal.


For Blood Orange Curd(modified from Donna Hay’s Modern Classics Book 2)

60ml blood orange juice
35g butter
30g sugar
1 whole egg
1 egg yolk

1) In a saucepan, heat juice and butter over low heat until butter is melted.
2) Whisk in the rest of the ingredients and over low heat, whisk continuously until mixture thickens, about 8-10 minutes.
3) Cool and refrigerate. Use to fill the pastry cases above.

* To prevent the tarts from turning soggy, it’s best to fill them just before serving.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bloody hell! I thought you had a nasty accident in your lab. LOL.

I love drinking blood orange juice or eating the fruit as is. Nice pics - blood and all.

Anonymous said...

Very nice photoes... you gave me some ideas...
Ciao.

Brilynn said...

I like your serving spoon. Blood oranges are so pretty, they lend a nice colour to everyhing. And if you wouldn't mind, I'd really like one of your tartelettes...

Anonymous said...

Ahhh...this is new to me. Do they taste like the usual oranges?

D said...

I love blood! For awhile there I thought you were going to start a post on scars and injuries from the kitchen. I have this nice scar running up my index finger which was almost severed because my hand got smashed against a glass bottle when a fridge door was slammed onto it. Battle wounds are a sign of a seasoned chef (or just a careless one haha!)

Sammy said...

Omg! I seriously thought you cut your finger!

Anonymous said...

Hallo Angie,

I'm living in Singapore since 2 years. And since a few weeks I started to blog as well. I'd like to make the breadsticks you've made and of course those "blood orange curd tartlets". I own all books from Donna Hay and I buy her magazine regularly.
That's a good idea to replace the lemon juice.

Brigitte

Unknown said...

Dutchess, sorry for the scare, LOL. Thanks for your kind words.

Orchidea, thanks. Hope to check out your ideas soon :)

Brilynn, please have one, virtually, hee..

Anne, these oranges are less citrus than the usual ones, and have a slightly bitter aftertaste.

Haha, D, I don't think I want to turn the readers off with a post on cuts and injuries.

YD, sorry to have scared you, the opening paragraph was inject some fun.

Hi Brigitte, thanks for visiting. I went to visit yours, very nice blog. Hope you are enjoying your stay here in Singapore :)

Kalyn Denny said...

I've never had blood oranges and would love to try them. The color of the juice is fantastic. Your tarts look wonderful too. Very interesting post for WHB!

Edith said...

Gee for a moment I got a scare! Please don't do that again. I am phobia of blood!!!!! Nearly fainted when you presented it in a spoon!

Please share this recipe, sounds so interesting.

Unknown said...

Kalyn, thank you!

Edith, yes ma'am, recipe already posted.
Sorry for the scare *sheepish*

Gattina Cheung said...

Angie,
I haven't tried this type of orange either, or simply mistaken it as grapefruit ;P Very clever alternate to lemon curd, the lemon's flavor is too harsh to me.
Thanks for all these baking tips, esp since I don't have removable tarlet tins. I love how the tartlet base sounds, surely will try it somedays!

Anonymous said...

Angie, i notice u are really creative when it comes to recipe modification ya? Unlike me, very kayu one!

Very unique tart u got there ;)

Anna (Morsels and Musings) said...

those tarts look great. i love citrus in a creamy form.

when i lived in italy an american friend of mine threw away kilos of blood oranges thinking they were navel oranges gone off!!!

it wasn't until i explained they were different kinds of oranges that he finally started trusting italian green grocers again.

Unknown said...

Haha Gattina, the size is far from a grapefruit, at least for the version I bought. Haven't tried lemon curd, but like you, I tend towards orange more than lemon :p

Sherie, thanks! No creative lah, 'gung-ho' maybe *LOL*. Whenver I change a recipe, I tell myself "okay, if this doesn't work out, blame yourself", hee..

Anna, oh my, that's a waste. But at least your friend understood after your explanation right? :)

Johaness Tan said...

hey.. blood oranges are now available in singapore! check them out at cold storage or shop & save..