The current bounty of bright citrus brings delight to even the darkest of winter days. Use every precious part – skin, flesh and juice – to add sharp, sweet and bitter flavours to savoury dishes and puddings alike.
Pot-roast chicken with ’nduja, fennel and winter citrus
Use eight chicken thighs instead of legs here, if you prefer. The bittersweet citrus perfectly balances out the ’nduja’s sly heat. Serve with rice or grains of your choice to soak up all the juices – I particularly love pearled spelt dressed with a fruity olive oil.
Prep 20 min
Cook 45 min
Serves 4
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt and black pepper
4 whole chicken legs (ie, thigh and drumstick)
2 medium fennel bulbs, each cut into 4-6 wedges
1 garlic bulb, cut in half
3 blood oranges, cut into 8 wedges
2 lemons, cut into wedges
Juice of 2 seville or navel oranges, and the zest of 1
1 tbsp fennel seeds
150ml chicken stock
60ml Pernod (or dry white wine)
3 tbsp ’nduja
150g green olives
Finely chopped flat leaf parsley, to garnish
Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6. Put a large casserole on a medium-high heat and add the oil. Season the chicken well, then fry until golden brown all over and transfer to a large plate. Lay the fennel wedges and garlic head halves cut side down in the pan, cook until lightly browned all over, then transfer to the chicken plate. Add the orange and lemon wedges, cook briefly to caramelise lightly, then transfer to the plate.
Add the fennel seeds and orange zest to the pan, fry briefly, then pour in the stock, Pernod and orange juice, and whisk in the ’nduja. Gently lay the chicken, garlic, fennel and citrus back in the pot, add the olives and bring to a boil. Leave to bubble for two minutes, then cover and pop in the hot oven for 30–35 minutes, until the chicken is cooked all the way through. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
Marmalade toast pudding with caramel clementines
This nostalgic bread-and-butter pud/pain perdu hybrid would send Paddington bear into a sugary nirvana. For best results, make it a day ahead, to give it a good amount of time to set.
Prep 25 min
Soak 30 min
Cook 1 hr 15 min
Cool 4 hr +
Serves 8
150g unsalted butter, plus extra for frying
400g brioche loaf, cut into thick slices
200g marmalade
4 eggs and 4 egg yolks
600g creme fraiche
150g caster sugar, plus extra for dusting
1 vanilla pod, split and seeds scraped out (save the pod for the caramel)
350ml double cream
Icing sugar, to finish
Vanilla ice-cream, or clotted cream, to serve
For the caramel clementines
200g caster sugar
The juice of 1 lemon, plus 1 thin strip of zest
3 clementines, peeled, pith removed and cut horizontally into rings
2 tbsp clementine juice
Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4 and line an oven tray with baking paper. Melt the butter in a saucepan on a low heat, then brush generously over both sides of the sliced brioche. Spread the bread on the tray and toast in the hot oven for about 25 minutes, until golden. Remove, leave to cool a little, then generously spread one side with marmalade and set aside.
Turn down the oven to 160C (140C fan)/325F/gas 3 and line a 900g loaf tin with baking paper, letting it overhang the sides. Arrange the slices of bread inside it, as if you were reshaping the loaf.
In a bowl, whisk the eggs, egg yolks, creme fraiche, caster sugar and the vanilla seeds until smooth, then whisk in the cream and pour all over the bread, letting the first lot soak in before adding more, if need be. Leave to soak for a good 30 minutes, then scatter over the extra sugar and bake for 45–50 minutes, or until golden and firm, and a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin, then chill for four hours, and preferably overnight, until firm.
To make the caramel clementines, swirl the sugar, 100ml water, lemon peel and vanilla pod in a saucepan on a medium-high heat until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil, then continue to swirl for eight to 10 minutes, until you have a dark amber, almost bitter caramel. Carefully fish out and discard the lemon peel and vanilla pod. Add the clementine rings, lemon and clementine juice to the syrup – be careful, because it will spit – stir to combine, then set aside to cool.
Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4. Turn the pudding out of the loaf tin, cut it again into thick slices, lay it on an oven tray lined with baking paper and dust with icing sugar. Heat a knob of butter in a large frying pan, lay in some of the slices sugared side down, and cook until caramelised. Dust the tops with icing sugar, flip and caramelise for another minute or two. Transfer back to the tray, wipe out the pan and repeat until all slices are caramelised.
Transfer the bread to the oven to heat through for five minutes, then serve warm, topped with caramelised clementines and a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.
Flu-busting citrus juice
This is packed full of vitamins, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory ingredients that say boo to the flu. I love jaggery, because it’s rich in iron and magnesium, but if you can’t find it, just add agave syrup to taste instead.
Prep 5 min
Makes 4 glasses
100g jaggery, grated
2½cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
2½cm fresh turmeric, finely grated
Juice of 4 blood oranges
Juice of 4 limes
Sea salt and black pepper, to taste
Chaat masala, to taste
Some thin orange and lime slices, to garnish
Put the jaggery, ginger, turmeric and 125ml water in a small saucepan and cook on a low heat until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a simmer, bubble for three minutes until you have a light syrup, leave to cool, then chill until very cold.
Mix the orange and lime juice with a litre of water. Strain the jaggery syrup, discarding the solids, and stir into the citrus juice. Add sea salt, black pepper and chaat masala to taste, then decant into a jug and add the sliced orange and lime. Serve poured over ice.
