Against the bare trees and pale sky, blood oranges travel from Mediterranean climates to bring a sweet-tart vibrancy to winter meals.
By Stefanie Gans
EAT
dress me up
“Instead of just lemon, we also use half blood orange,” says Aykan Demiroglu of Bistro Vivant’s blood orange vinaigrette, dressing a beet salad with goat cheese and blood orange segments. The blood orange “is a little bit more tart,” says the owner of the McLean French restaurant, and is a “really good compliment to the salad.”
LISTEN
sweet sounds
Houston-born and British-raised singer-songwriter Devonté “Dev” Hynes performs under the name of the strikingly good looking fruit, “Blood Orange.” Jonathan Neman, of the Sweetgreen salad chain and Sweetlife Food & Music Festival, recommends the song “Sutphin Boulevard” for first time listeners. Hynes’ third studio album is due early this year.
SHOP
if you took a holiday
Taste Oil Vinegar Spice, with shops in Fredericksburg and Culpeper, stocks a blood orange olive oil, with both fruits (olive and orange) grown and crushed in Tunisia. Owner George Farrar suggests pairing it with the cranberry pear balsamic vinegar, for what his wife calls, “a holiday in your mouth.” / tasteovs.com
COOK
tweet-cipe
@ACVTweets chopped blood orange bits, cubed avocado, thai basil, grated ginger, dash of sugar, salt to taste, toss w/1 T EVOO.
@Margotwiss Marinate 1# pk tenderloin in 1/2 c. each blood orange juice, soy sce, 1/4 c. honey. Roast @ 425 35 min. Rest 10 min.
@modiea Blood Orange Margaritas: Fresh blood orange juice, lime juice, Cointreau, tequila, kosher salt, blood orange slices, sage sprigs.
BUY
berry in disguise
“Choosing blood oranges, you have to be careful,” says Alexandria-based cookbook author Domenica Marchetti. “They’re pretty perishable.” Marchetti suggests buying oranges heavy for their size; a sign the fruit brims with juice. Some blood oranges fall on the sweet side, others: quite tart. “And there’s a nice, refreshing tart-berry quality to them,” similar to a blackberry or raspberry, says Marchetti.
If you pick some up, they make a lovely iced treat: There’s a blood orange granita recipe in her book, “Big Night In” (2008)
(January 2013)
