Beautiful Blood Oranges

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Yesterday, the girls and I had to run into Whole Foods for a few items that my regular grocery store doesn’t carry. While I was there, I picked up a few produce items that I’d been wanting to try, including a few blood oranges. I’ve seen blood oranges used in various dishes on cooking shows, but I’ve never seen them in my local market. They are a little smaller than a navel orange, and the pulp is a gorgeous purple-y red color. Hence, the name. I can see why they are often used in salads, as they provide a lovely counter-balance for the salad greens. They are a bit more tart and richer than a navel orange, but I might go so far as to say that I prefer them over other varieties.

After my discovery, I looked around for a few recipes that incorporated blood oranges to share with you (and to try for myself). There are LOTS of recipes for blood orange mixed drinks. Blood orange martinis, blood orange margaritas, and so on. It is also used a lot in salads. But there were also some really delicious looking main dishes that use them. Let me know if you try any of these.

1. Martha Stewart’s Escarole, Blood Orange, and Walnut Salad. I think you could add grilled chicken, flank steak, or shrimp to this beautiful salad to make it a main dish.

2. Bon Appetit’s Blood Orange Tart with Caramel Sauce. Homemade sweet crust, fresh blood orange curd, and a lovely orange caramel sauce.

3. Bon Appetit’s Mahi-Mahi with Blood Orange, Avocado, and Red Onion Salsa. I adore a fruit salsa with fish, and the flavor of the blood orange would be perfect with magi-mahi.

4. Blood Orange Roast Pork Loin. Pork Loins are cheap, and I know they could be very good, but I’ve never had a really good pork loin recipe. I’m going to try this one. I think the combo of the rosemary and blood orange could provide a very nice flavor.

5. Citrus Pound Cake with Blood Orange Sauce. Pound cake with fruit is a classic dessert. This would be a nice twist.

6. Blood Orange Sangria. I’ve never made homemade sangria, bit I was intrigued by The Pioneer Woman’s recipe when it was on her cooking show. This looks delicious!

7. Blood Orange Vinaigrette. This salad dressing uses fresh herbs and blood oranges with olive oil and white wine vinegar. This would be delicious on any kind of dark, leafy lettuce.

8. Blood Orange Curd. I have made my own jams, but I’ve never attempted curd. I adore lemon curd, and I think this blood orange curd by UseRealButter.com would be a perfect accompaniment to a good southern tea biscuit.

9. Martha Stewart’s Blood-Orange-Marinated Pork Chops. I love a grilled pork chop, but during the winter months we don’t grill as much. And since blood orange season is from December through MArch, this would be a very nice substitution.

10. Diver Scallops with Blood Orange Sauce. These are listed as an appetizer, but I think I could make a meal off of these!

Y’all let me know if you’ve tried blood oranges, and especially if you have a favorite recipe. Please visit our Recipe Index for more delicious ideas.

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