orange recipes

Here's a collection of orange recipes from our weekly newsletters, and some lovely ones you've sent in. If you'd like more please have a look at our recipe index! To find out about our orange producer and order yours click here.

Rhubarb and Orange Trifle
Chilled Orange and Tomato Soup
Orange Carrots
Fennel and Orange Salad
Traditional Seville Bitter Orange Marmalade
Glazey Orange Carrots
15-Min-Marmalade
Orange Tea

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Rhubarb and Orange Trifle

500 g rhubarb, cut into 1-inch chunks
100 g golden castor sugar
Grated zest and juice of 1 orange
6 trifle sponges
3 tablespoons orange marmalade
65 ml grand marnier liqueur
275 ml freshly squeezed orange juice
1 sachet gelatine granules
350 ml fresh custard
200 g greek-style yoghurt
50 g pecan nuts

Preheat oven to 180°C/ 350°F/ Gas Mark 4. Prepare the rhubarb by placing in a shallow ovenproof dish. Sprinkle the caster sugar and orange zest and juice over the top and pop into the oven, uncovered, for 30-40 minutes until the rhubarb becomes tender. At the same time, place the pecans on a baking sheet and place in the oven for 7 minutes to toast them. When these are ready, chop them. Slice the sponges in half lengthways and spread each half with the marmalade and then reform them. Spread the remaining marmalade over the top and cut each one into three little sandwiches. Now arrange them into a large trifle bowl and make some forks marks in the sponge. Drizzle the liqueur over the top and allow it to soak in. Once the rhubarb has been removed from the oven allow it to become cold before tasting it. If it is sharp, add some more sugar. with a slotted spoon, remove the rhubarb and place amongst the sponges. Pour the remaining juices from the dish into a measuring jug and make this up to the 500ml level with the orange juice. Next, transfer 225ml of this liquid into a small saucepan, scatter the gelatine over it, whisk and leave to soak for 5 minutes. Place the pan over a low heat and whisk until the granules of gelatine have completely dissolved, then return this to the juice remaining in the jug. Stir thoroughly and then pour it over the sponges and leave aside to set. In a separate bowl, whisk together the custard and yoghurt and then spoon over the set jelly. Cover with clingfilm and chill until ready to serve. Just prior to serving, scatter on the toasted pecan nuts and some additional pouring cream if desired.

Chilled Orange and Tomato Soup

8 tomatoes, skinned
2 oranges, juiced and a little zest
Juice of ½ lemon
4-6 spring onions, chopped
½ pint iced water
1 tablespoon yoghurt
Salt and pepper to taste

Place everything except the yoghurt and seasoning into a blender and liquidise. Season to taste and leave to chill for at least an hour. Just before serving, swirl in a little yoghurt.

Orange Carrots

Serves 5 - 6 people

6 - 8 carrots
125 ml (4 ½ fl oz) fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons honey
4 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
½ teaspoon finely grated orange rind
pinch of salt
few pats of butter

Peel carrots and slice them lengthways into thin strips. Arrange in a large pie dish and pour orange juice and honey over. Sprinkle with parsley, orange rind and salt, and dot with butter. Cover and bake at Gas Mark 3, 325°F or 160°C for about 1 hour or until just cooked.

Fennel and Orange Salad

2 large oranges
1 bulb fennel
1 small onion (preferably red)
50 g rocket leaves
15 g pitted black olives
1 sun dried tomato in oil, drained
1 small clove garlic, peeled and crushed
½ tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

Make the dressing first. Roughly chop the olives and the sun-dried tomato. Place in a food processor with the garlic, parsley and 1 tablepooon of the oil. Blend to a fairly smooth paste. Transfer to a bowl and whisk the remaining oil, vinegar and seasoning to taste. Peel the oranges, removing the white pith. Cut into segments between the membranes- do this over a bowl to catch the juices to add to the dressing. Place the segments in a large bowl. Discard the tough outer layer of the fennel, then slice very thinly. Finely slice the onion. Toss the fennel, onion and rocket leave together with the oranges. Pour over the dressing, toss again until everything is evenly coated. Serve immediately.

Traditional Seville Bitter Orange Marmalade

This recipe comes from Rocio Gahona, who grows our Seville oranges on her farm, Huerta Ave María. In Seville, of course!

Prep time: 30mins
Soaking time: 24 hours
Cooking time: 3 to 4 ½ hours

Makes: 6-8 jars

1kg Seville oranges
4 pints water
Juice of 2 lemons
1.5 to 2kg golden caster sugar
6-8 (340-450g) jam jars

Halve the oranges and lemons. Squeeze out the juice and the pips.

Cut the orange peel into shreds – don't worry about scraping out any leftover orangey bits - they'll add texture and flavour to the marmalade. Slice as thick or as thin as you like, but do note that the peel swells a bit when it cooks so cut it thinner than you want the end product. Discard the lemon peel, or use to grate over other dishes.

Tie the pips and all the squeezed out fleshy bits in a muslin bag and put into a large preserving pan or pot with the orange and lemon juice, water and peel. Cover and soak at room temperature for 24 hours. After soaking, place the pot over medium-high heat and cook at a gentle boil until the peel is soft, approximately 1½ hours.

Remove the bag of pips, squeezing it gently. Take the pan from the heat, add 500g sugar for every pint (that includes everything – juice and peel). You'll need 1.5 to 2kg. Stir until dissolved. Once all the sugar granulates have dissolved, return pan to the heat and bring to the boil. Boil rapidly until setting point is reached. This will take 1½ to 3 hours.

Setting point is when a little marmalade, spooned on to a cold plate and allowed to cool, has a "set" surface and "wrinkles" when pushed with the finger.

Glazey Orange Carrots

Prep time: 5-10 mins
Cooking time: about 15 mins

Serves: 4 as a side

3-4 large or 8-10 small carrots
A mug of freshly squeezed orange juice
A bit of freshly grated zest
A bit of butter or olive oil
A pinch of spice

Cut the carrots into batons or, if they're small, halve lengthwise for long, elegant pieces.

Arrange your carrots in a single layer in a lidded frying pan or shallow pot. Add juice and zest.

Cover. Cook over medium-low heat for 10-15 mins. Shake the pan from time to time. Check the juice level, too. Add more juice or a little water, if necessary, to keep the carrots moist.

When the carrots are tender and the juice has reduced to a sticky glaze, remove the lid. Add a bit of butter or oil, and some spice if you like (cumin, cardamom, pepper). Delicious with meat, fish. Scatter with herbs and serve on bed of spiced couscous with toasted almonds.

15-Min-Marmalade

This is a quick route to marmalade heaven.

Prep time: 5-10 mins
Cooking time: 7 mins

Serves: Enough for 4-6 pieces of toast, but can easily be doubled (follow the same timings)

1-2 oranges (or 2-3 clementines)
4 tbsp clear honey

Juice the fruit. Collect 4 tbsp of juice. Place in a saucepan.

Cut the juiced halves into thirds, remove the fleshy middle and white pith. Slice remaining zest into thin wisps till you have 2 tbsp of zest. Add to the pan.

Let it bubble up over a medium heat. Stir in the honey with a wooden spoon. When it boils again, reduce the heat and simmer for 7 mins. Stir the whole time.

Then, you're done. It'll be a bit runny, but will thicken in 30 - 60 mins. Use straight away or refrigerate for 2-3 months.

Orange Tea

Lemon tea. Boring. A few slices of orange mingled with spice make for a wicked tea. If you like, swap the spices for a handful of fresh mint. Or try this with different spices like cloves, star anise, a pinch of saffron...

Prep time: 2-3mins

Serves 1

2 slices of fresh orange, clementine or tangerine, etc.
½ cinnamon stick or a sprinkle of ground cinnamon
4 cardamom pods, crushed to reveal the seeds
A little tea pot or mug
Enough boiling water to cover
1 tsp honey (or more to taste)

Pop the orange slices and spices in the mug or tea pot. Swirl in the honey. Let it brew for 2-3 mins. Relax, sip and enjoy.