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| First of the season's oranges! |
Early harvest oranges have begun to appear in local markets, reminding me of one of Spain’s gastronomic treasures—the orange, both sweet and bitter.
“Valencia oranges” are famous, but Sevilla is equally well-known for citrus fruit and for the beautiful bitter orange trees that line the avenues of the Andalusian city.
The Sevilla orange is the protagonist of the 23rd annual Gastronomy Days (Jornadas Gastronómicas) sponsored by Hoteles de Sevilla. Oranges will be featured on the menus at 26 participating hotels until November 10 (see the list here ). As an example, Restaurant los Rincones del Marqués at the Hotel Palacio Villapanés offers Ibérico pork with bitter orange, wild mushrooms and braised artichokes; wild sea bass with orange; steak tartar in brioche with an orange-achiote emulsion; baby lamb with orange and rosemary honey. There’s even an orange wine to accompany the meal.
I’m not in Sevilla this month, but I am inspired to get creative with oranges. Here is a recipe for Sole with Orange Sauce as well as links to recipes with oranges that I have posted in the past.
Fish with Orange-Caper Sauce
Pescado con Salsa de Naranja y Alcaparras
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| Pan-fried sole are sauced with orange-caper sauce. |
I was looking for gallineta, a rockfish that I thought would be especially good with orange sauce, but it was not available that day at my market. I purchased two 8-ounce sole. I had them gutted, skinned and heads removed. This provided two 6-ounce ready-to-cook fish on the bone. Larger sole could be filleted or you could use fillets of any white fish such as sea bass, cod or grouper.
Serves 2.
2 (8-ounce) sole, cleaned and skinned
Salt
Flour
Olive Oil
¼ cup white wine
½ cup fish stock
¼ cup orange juice
1 tablespoon drained capers
1 tablespoon cold butter
Chopped parsley
Sliced oranges for garnish
Fried leeks to garnish (optional)
Sprinkle the fish with salt and allow them to come to room temperature. Dust them with flour on all sides. Add enough oil to cover the bottom of a skillet and place on medium-high heat. Add the fish and fry them until browned, about 2 minutes per side. Remove the fish and keep them warm.
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| Garnish with oranges and fried leeks. |
Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the oil. Add the wine and cook, stirring up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Let the wine reduce to 1 tablespoon. Add the stock and orange juice. Cook on medium heat until the sauce is reduced by half. Add the capers and heat thoroughly. Taste and add salt if needed.
Remove the pan from the heat and add the butter in small pieces, swirling it into the hot sauce.
Place the fish on a platter or individual plates. Spoon over the orange-caper sauce. Sprinkle generously with parsley. Garnish the plates with sliced orange and fried leeks, if desired.
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| Shredded, fried leeks. |
For the fried leeks: Wash the leek and remove outer layer. Cut the white part of the leek into 4-inch segments. Cut the segments in half lengthwise. With a sharp knife, slice the leek lengthwise into thin strips/threads. Soak them in ice water for 20 minutes. Drain well and pat dry on paper towels.
Fry the leeks in 2 inches of oil in a deep pan until they are golden-brown. (Use a deep pan as moisture in the leeks can cause the oil to bubble up.) Skim the leeks out and drain well on paper towels. Sprinkle them lightly with salt.
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| Orange-date salad. |
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| Beer-battered fish, sour orange sauce. |
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| Orange-Saffron-Sherry Olive Oil Cake |
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