I had one that very first night. It was delicious, although in all truth I didn't notice any appreciable flavour difference in it to that of a regular orange. I think probably the only real difference is in the colour, which is caused by the presence of anthocyanins, a family of antioxidant pigments common to many flowers and fruit, but somewhat rare in citrus.
I used two of them in our favourite chicken dish, which I normally use ordinary oranges in, but these blood oranges were lovely and sweet, and I loved their colour. I thought they would be perfect for the dish and I was not wrong! They provided a beautiful contrast in colour and flavour to the spring onions and feta cheese.
The recipe itself is a very simple one, as well as being quick to do and quite delicious. Its a recipe I adapted a while back from one I found in cookbook I have which is filled with recipes perfectly sized for a small family of two. We are two. Its an America's Test Kitchen Book. Those books are the best. The recipes always turn out fantastic.
We eat a lot of chicken in our house and I am always trying new ways to cook it. . . so that it doesn't get boring. This recipe definitely is NOT boring!
Seasoned, boneless, skinless chicken breasts are lightly dusted with some plain flour and then browned in a skillet on both sides. The topside is browned at a much higher temperature so that it gets truly golden brown, then you flip them over and brown the bottom side at a lower temperature. This technique is supposed to keep them nice and moist.
It does keep them nice and moist. Proper timing also prevents them from drying out too much. You want the juices to run clear, but you also don't want them to be dry. Nice and moist is the key.
The sauce is flavoured with some garlic and fennel seed. Fennel goes very well with oranges and garlic goes very well with chicken. Altogether this is a winning combination.
The sauce is not sweet in the least, but has a lovely orange flavour, which is balanced nicely with the addition when you go to serve them, of a sprinkle of salty feta cheese and the sharpness of sliced spring onions.
We both enjoyed this chicken a lot. I served it with brown rice and English Petit Pois. It went down a real treat!
*Blood Orange & Feta Chicken*
Serves 2
Trim away the pith and peel from the oranges, cut into
quarters and then cut the quarters into chunks. Season the chicken
breasts lightly with salt and pepper. Dredge in flour, shaking off any
excess flour. Discard any leftover flour.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet until the oil begins to shimmer. Add the chicken breasts, presentation side down first. Cook for approximately 6 minutes, until golden brown. Reduce the temperature to medium and flip them over. Cook on the bottom sides for an additional 6 minutes or until the juices run clear. Remove to a plate and tent with foil to keep warm.
Add the garlic and fennel to the pan. Cook, stirring until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the oranged and water. Cook just until the oranges have softened, a few minutes longer. Stir in any accumulated chicken juices from the plate, season to taste and then pour the sauce over the chicken. Sprinkle the cooked chicken with the feta cheese and sliced spring onions. Serve immediately.
If you are looking for a way to cook chicken breasts that is delicious and just that tiny little bit different look no further! This recipe fits the bill perfectly! Let me know what you think if you try it. I think you are going to fall in love! Bon Appetit!
As a food blogger I am sometimes sent new and innovative products to try out here in the comfort of my own home. I was recently sent a really innovative "Healthy Snack" product. Karma Bites, Popped Lotus Seeds. Very unusual indeed.
According to the pack Lotus seeds come from the Euroyale fox flower which is a type of water lily. They contain protein as well as fibre and iron. They make a nice substitute for popcorn if you're grain sensitive or if you are looking for something which is a bit lighter. They are also hull-less for those who have sensitive teeth and gums, or who perhaps suffer from a digestive ailment like diverticulitis.
Lotus seeds are also known as convenient snack that contains protein with calcium, phosphorus, manganese, iron and potassium.
They come in four flavours.
Caramel - First up, the Caramel ones. The flavour here is achieved simply
through sugar and vanilla coating the popped lotus seeds. They tasted rather nice, with a subtle sweetness that isn't too overpowering. They're
nice and crunchybut there is a bit of an undertone of some flavour I am not in any way familiar with.
Himalayan Pink Salt - Light in colour with visible little specks of black, which I am assuming are parts of the Lotus seed kernals. Lightly salted and puffed, but again there is an undertone of some flavour I am not in any way familiar with, however it is not unpleasant.
Peri Peri - These had a mild but not unpleasant heat. Again, light and puffy, and moreishly crunchy. I liked!
Wasabi - Intense, just what you would expect from wasabi. Light, puffy. Crunchy. Not a huge fan of extreme spice these were my least favourite.
Overall, I would have to say that Karma Bites make for a great alternative and healthier snack for
anyone looking for a grain free, low fat, vegan or dairy free snack. I did find that there was a bit of an odd taste to them that was different than anything I have ever eaten, which . . . while a bit strange, was not unpleasant, and I quickly got used to it. I think would definitely buy a bag of these if I saw them in the local shops as it is always quite nice to have a healthier snack to binge on rather than what's normally in my cupboard.
For more information on Karma Bites and to buy online, check out their website: https://www.karmabites.co.uk/
Lately I have had a hankering for a lamb stew. Lamb was not something I had really eaten until I moved over here to the UK. My one and only experience with it had been one time when my mother cooked lamb chops.
They smelled like burning mittens when they were cooking. None of us liked them. My ex also was not fond of lamb, so it wasn't anything I had much experience in tasting or cooking.
For our wedding meal, the members of our church congregation took us out to a pub for supper and we could order anything we wanted from the menu.
There was Roasted Saddle of Lamb on the menu and so I decided to throw caution to the wind and I ordered it.
It could have gone so badly, but happily it didn't. I fell in love with lamb right then and there and I have been enjoying a loving relationship with it ever since!
This stew that I am showing you here today is a very simple one, but when you think about it, traditional Irish food is really very simple. There is a great history of poverty in Ireland for its people.
They would not have had meat very often, and in fact, the potato was their main form of sustenance through the years. They learned to cook simple foods and make them taste really good.
This is a simple stew that uses simple ingredients and I don't mind telling you, it is the most delicious stew I make. We both love it.
I used diced leg of lamb for this the other day. I picked it up at the local butchers and had them trim all of the fat from it that they could. This is then quite simply browned in a bit of oil. I put the lamb on to brown while I am prepping the vegetables.
That way I tend to forget about it, which means it gets nicely browned without me worrying it every few minutes and stirring it about. (One of the secrets to any good stew made with red meat, is in a good and proper browning. The meat won't brown nicely if you keep moving it about.)
The vegetables used are simple. Carrots. Celery. Onion. Potatoes. That's it. Nothing more and nothing less. I used lamb stock cubes to make the stock.
Lamb stock is not normally something I keep in the freezer. If you can't get lamb stock, feel free to use chicken stock.
You will want to brown the meat really well . . . so you get all of those caramelized lamb juices to flavour the stew with.
There is really no other flavourings, save salt and pepper. I add a couple of sprigs of thyme, but traditionally there would have been no herbs added.
Once you get the meat nicely browned, you add the chopped vegetables and you sweat them for a bit in the drippings from having cooked the lamb. More flavour.
Don't discard any of those drippings. They are what's going to give your stew it's flavour and colour.
Once you have sweated and lightly caramelized the vegetables, throw in the sprigs of thyme and return the lamb to the pot, along with its juices.
Again . . . flavour, and every little bit counts. This gets covered in stock.
At the last you cover the top of the stew with thick
slices of potato. You can keep the potato in rounds if they are small, or cut them into half moons if your potatoes are larger.
A light seasoning with salt and black pepper, and dotting with butter is all you have left to do. Just tightly cover it and then bake it in a slow oven.
Your oven will do the work, and you will be rewarded at the end with probably one of the tastiest stews you would ever want to eat! Crusty bread is a must to soak up all those lovely juices!
2 TBS light olive oil
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
2 sprigs of thyme
salt and black pepper
1 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and sliced into thick rounds
(cut into half moons if the potatoes are largish)
600ml lamb stock
Heat a medium, heavy bottomed flame proof casserole (with a lid) over medium heat. Add half of the oil and heat. Once the oil is heated, add the lamb and brown, over medium heat until well browned. Working in batches if necessary. Remove the lamb from the casserole and set aside. Add the vegetables and the remaining oil. Cook, stirring occasionally, over medium low heat, until they have begun to soften a bit. Return the lamb to the pot along with any juices. Season with salt and pepper. Add the sprigs of thyme. Pour over the lamb stock. Lay the potatoes on top covering and pushing them down a bit into the stock. Dot with butter.
Cover tightly. Bake in the heated oven for 2 hours, until the meat is beautifully tender and all of the vegetables are cooked, uncovering the casserole for the last fifteen minutes to lightly brown the potatoes. Spoon out into heated bowls to serve. Sprinkle with parsley if desired. Crusty bread goes well.
Because there are only two of us we had plenty of leftovers to enjoy the day afterwards. There is a special magic that happens with soups and stews in that . . . after being left overnight in the refrigerator, they always taste even better.
Its a delicious alchemy that I don't comprehend, I only know is that it always happens. This would be the perfect dish for you to cook to celebrate Saint Patrick's Day.
It would go down really well with some crusty soda bread for the main dish, and finishing off with a nice slice of my Irish Apple Cake along with some custard for dessert. That's Saint Paddy's well sorted! Ithe sásta!! Sláinte!!
One thing I really love about European Culture and visiting the Continent is the "Cafe Culture." Cities and towns all over Europe are peppered with small cafes which spill out onto the streets with small tables and stools, filled with people enjoying the sunshine and their favourite drinks.
We have adopted it somewhat here in the UK, in the major cities and urban centres, but to be honest, we don't get enough sunshine for it to be a perpetual thing. I have fond memories of enjoying a lovely hot chocolate in Germany, piled high with whipped cream in a tall glass, sitting on a plate with a crisp biscuit sitting at the edge.
That never happened back home. Free cookie with a drink? Fat chance! If you wanted a cookie (in my experience) you would have to pay for one, except in perhaps the most solubrious of establishments!
Even here in the UK if you order a drink in all but the cheapest tawdry establishments, you will get a free biscuit when you order a hot drink. Its usually one of those Lotus biscuits (I love them) wrapped in plastic, just waiting for you to upwrap and dunk.
These shortbread biscuits I am showing you here today would be perfectly at home with a hot drink, or being dunked. They are buttery and crisp and have a lovely short texture!
Quick and easy to make, once you make the dough and have it chilled. Just slice and bake like the slice and bake cookie rolls you can get in the shops.
The original recipe contained only three ingredients . . . butter, sugar and plain flour. It comes from a book entitled My Grandmother's Kitchen, by contributing Editor Catherine Best.
In looking at it I thought that it would be lovely flavoured with coffee and coated in coffee sugar/demerara sugar that comes in the little packets of sugar you see in the coffee shops.
So I adapted the recipe to use a strong coffee essence that I created using instant coffee crystals and hot water. You simply mix all the ingredients together, shape into a log and then roll the log in demerara sugar crystals.
I believe it is called turbinado sugar in North America, or raw sugar. In any case it has large granules and is brown in colour.
That is then wrapped tightly and chilled for at least half an hour, but longer is okay. I dare say you could keep the whole roll tightly wrapped in the refrigerator for days, slicing off and baking only as needed.
Or even in the freezer, ready to take out and slice as needed. Have a guest coming for coffee? Not a problem, just grab a ready made roll and start baking.
You could also shape the log into a triangle. I have never been able to accomplish that myself. A square is as best as I can do.
One of these days I shall master it however. I am determined.
Once it is well chilled, you cut the sugar covered log into thick slices and then bake them in a slow oven until they are moreishly crisp throughout. Try to leave a bit of space between them so that they don't touch each other.
They spread a tiny tiny bit when they are baking. If they touch each other the edges won't be as crisp when done.
The end result is a crisp, buttery, short, beautifully flavoured biscuit/cookie with crisp sugar gilded edges that you would be proud to serve with any drink . . . even milk!
Especially milk! I am a cookies and milk afficionado myself! Love the combination!
*Slice & Bake Coffee Shortbreads*
Makes 25 - 30
1 tsp strong coffee essence (see below)
90g caster sugar (1/2 cup, superfine)
Spread an abundant
amount of the demerara sugar onto a piece of baking paper. Press each
side of the dough log into the sugar to coat. Wrap and chill for half an
hour or longer, until very firm.
Preheat the oven to
160*C/325*F/ gas mark 3. Line a couple of baking sheets with baking
paper. Cut the log into thick slices and place slightly apart on the
prepared baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes until beginning to turn
brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight
container.
To make the coffee essence:
Stir together 2 tsp dry coffee granules and 1 tsp boiling water to give you a thick essence of almost syrup consistency.
I have fallen in love with these cookies, even though I know I really shouldn't be. They are irresistably incredibly moreishly tasty!!! I think adding coffee flavour to them was genius. (Sorry if it sounds like I am bragging. I really am not. I just want you to bake them!)
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
There is just something really special about a bundt cake don't you think? Every one of them looks like a celebration just waiting to happen . . . I have three bundt pans. Two Nordic ware pans (Cathedral Window, Fleur de Lis) and a regular ordinary bundt pan. These special pans have the ability to lift what is an ordinary cake up to the greatest heights, simply by virtue of their beauty! This Zesty Lemon Pound Cake is anything but an ordinary cake however! Lemon and bundt are a beautiful combination. No question about it.
Yes . . . admittedly it is a bit of a cheat as it uses a cake mix. I used a Betty Crocker Zesty Lemon cake mix as the base.
This gets beaten together in a bowl along with some milk and eggs (which you would expect) . . . it uses 3 large free-range eggs. I only ever use free-range eggs and I use RSPCA approved. It is one of my quirks of conscience . . .
There is no oil or butter involved . . . just a small pack of cream cheese. I used the full fat because that is what I had in the house. I cannot say how it would work with the low fat one. Probably alright, but that's only a guess on my part . . . the cream cheese makes for a lovely dense and moist cake.
The zesty lemon flavour comes from the use of the finely grated zest of two large lemons. I use unwaxed lemons myself, but if you are using regular lemons, just wash them really well and then dry them off before zesting.
Even more flavour comes from the addition of fresh lemon juice . . . you can never have too much lemon flavour in my opinion . . .
This cake itself packs a triple whammy of lemon flavour . . . with the cake mix itself being a lemon cake, and then the abundance of the lemon zest and the lemon juice. YUMMO! I adore lemon . . . but that is not all . . .
Once the cake has baked and cooled, you whisk together a simple glaze of icing sugar and yes . . . more fresh lemon juice!!!
This gets spooned over the finished cake so that it can sink into every golden crevice of the finished cake, gilding and enhancing all the swirls and definitions of your chosen bundt pan, making them even more gorgeously beautiful. I don't think this cake could get any better.
*Zesty Lemon Cake*
Makes one bundt cake (12 servings)
Moist and delicious with a lovely deep lemon flavour.
Preheat the oven to 165*C/325*F/ gas mark 3. Generously spray
a large fluted non-stick cake tin with some low fat cooking spray. Set
aside.
To make the glaze whisk the icing sugar and lemon juice together adding first 1 TBS of juice and then only the rest as you need it to give you a smooth thick glaze. Pour or spoon evenly over the cake and allow it to set. Store the cake loosely covered.
We have enjoyed it plain as it is, but I do think it would be lovely with some fresh berries and perhaps a dollop of softly whipped cream. I garnished it with some pastel green and yellow cake sprinkles. This cake shouts SPRING to me! I am not even sorry I used a cake mix for it . . . this cake is excellent just as is, mix and all. Bon Appetit!
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