Celebrate abundance of Valley-grown citrus

By Robert Rodriguez

01/11/12 00:58:59

Valley grown citrus is in abundance this time of year. And depending on what entices your tastes buds, you should be able to find something to delight your palette and add some extra zest to your cooking.

Easy-peeling mandarins, sweet-tasting lemons and several varieties of specialty oranges, including Cara Cara and Moro, are among the citrus varieties available at grocery stores, fruit stands and farmers markets.

Although the Valley's citrus crop got off to a late start, supplies are plentiful and many are hitting their peak, including oranges, mandarins and lemons.

Fresno-based personal chef Wendy Carroll revels in the overflow of the sweet and tart-tasting Meyer lemons she gets every winter. Her neighbors give her their excess from their backyard lemon trees. In exchange, she makes them a Meyer lemon, ginger marmalade.

"It's how I keep my supply of lemons coming every year," says Carroll, who runs Seasoned To Taste.

Although citrus often is eaten as a fresh fruit, it can be incorporated into cooking as a flavorful note in sauces, salads and desserts.

Carroll uses the juice and grated peel from a Meyer lemon as the foundation for her lemon pudding mini cakes that are topped with limoncello-spiked whipping cream.

She also uses slices of lemon in a roasted chicken dish she has prepared. The lemons, along with seasoned potatoes and artichoke hearts, are roasted on and alongside chicken thighs providing a sweet, citrus flavor.

"It is a wonderful part of the dish and you can even pop the lemon slices in your mouth," Carroll says.

Chef Don Waddell, head of the culinary program at the Institute of Technology at Clovis, likes to segment mandarins and add them to salads along with nuts and dried cranberries for a nice chewy texture.

At Max's Bistro in Fresno, chef Scott Sauer uses seasonal citrus to enhance the flavor of his fish and meat dishes.

He likes Cara Cara and Moro, or blood oranges, in sauces because of their distinctive flavor and color. Cara Cara navels have a tangy cranberrylike flavor and a pinkish flesh, while blood oranges have a bold-orange taste with bright red-colored flesh.

"That mixture of sweet and tart can really make a dish more appetizing," Sauer said.

A bright fresh citrusy winter salad

For the vinaigrette:

Juice from 2 lemons, preferably Meyer lemons

Juice from 1/2 navel orange

1 large shallot, minced fine

1 cup olive oil, regular press, not extra virgin

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

For the salad:

6 large eggs, hard-cooked, make sure not overcooked

Approximately 50 Brussels sprouts, stem end trimmed off so leaves come off easily

3/4 cup Marcona almonds, finely chopped

1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese

If available use a juicer to juice whole lemons, orange and shallot. Then add salt and pepper and taste for seasoning. Then refrigerate for half an hour.

If no juicer available simply mix vinaigrette ingredients in bowl except for the olive oil.

Whisk in olive oil, taste and adjust seasonings, then refrigerate for at least half an hour.

Finely chop eggs or pass through a sieve.

Take all the leaves off the Brussels sprouts and give them a quick rinse in a colander and then lightly pat dry on a clean towel.

Toss Brussels sprout leaves, chopped egg, and chopped Marcona almonds.

Whisk or vigorously shake the vinaigrette in a container and lightly drizzle one-half of dressing into salad and toss.

Check coverage and add and toss more dressing as needed.

Place tossed salad in chilled bowls for serving and sprinkle Pecorino Romano over each salad before serving.

-- Don Waddell/Culinary Division Director at the Institute of Technology

Lemon pudding cakelets with fresh berries and limoncello-spiked whipped cream

Makes 8 servings

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided use

1 cup granulated sugar plus sugar for ramekins, divided use

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/8 tablespoon salt

Grated peel of 1 lemon

1/3 cup lemon juice

3 eggs, separated

1/8 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg

1 cup whole milk

Assortment of fresh berries

Whipping cream

Powdered sugar

Limoncello

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Using a paper towel and 1 tablespoon of butter, butter eight 4-ounce ramekins.

Dust them with granulated sugar. Gently tap out excess. Set ramekins in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.

In a small bowl, stir together 1/2 cup sugar with flour and salt. Set aside.

Melt 4 tablespoons butter (microwave works fine). In a medium bowl, combine melted butter, grated lemon peel, lemon juice and egg yolks.

Whisk until blended. Whisk nutmeg and milk into yolk mixture. Gradually whisk in flour mixture and blend until smooth.

In another bowl, beat egg whites until frothy.

Gradually add in 1/2 cup sugar, beating until soft peaks are formed. Stir about 1/2 of the beaten whites into the egg batter. Gently fold in remaining whites.

Put a kettle of water on to boil. Spoon batter into prepared ramekins.

Add boiling water to 9-by-13-inch pan -- to a depth of 1 inch.

Bake until puffed and lightly golden, 30-35 minutes. When cool enough to handle, remove from water bath.

Serve warm or chilled, topped with mixed berries and whipped cream.

Whip cream and season to taste with powdered sugar and Limoncello.

-- Wendy Carroll, Seasoned to Taste