Simple, Healthy & Delicious Cooking with Carmelo featuring Cara Cara and Blood Oranges

We know you love our pesticide-free Navel oranges, but have you ever had a Cara Cara or a Blood orange? These sweet-tart treats may look like Navel oranges on the outside, but it’s what’s inside that makes them unique.

Blood Orange recipes

Wild Arugula Salad with Blood Orange Sherry Vinaigrette

Blood oranges.

I developed this recipe for an Earth Day 2010 event we did with Eucalyptus magazine, which was held at Bloomingdale’s at the Stanford Shopping Center. The Blood oranges pair beautifully with the peppery arugula. — Carmelo Sigona

Ingredients

• 1 Tbl shallot, finely diced
• Juice of 1 lime (about 1 Tbl)
• ½ c Blood Orange juice, strained
• ½ Tbl Sherry Wine Vinegar
• ½ c Sigona’s Fresh Press extra virgin olive oil (we recommend our California Ultra Proprietary blend, a local mix Mission, Manzanillo and Navidio Blanco)
• 1 ½ Tbl dried currants
• Salt & Pepper
• 6 Blood Oranges, segmented (leave no white or bitter, fibrous skin on the segments)
• 12 c Wild Arugula, cleaned and well dried*

Directions:

Combine shallot, lime juice, blood orange juice and sherry in a medium bowl. Gradually whisk in olive oil to emulsify the mix. Season the mixture to taste with salt and pepper. Add currents and let set for 10 minutes at room temperature.

In a separate large salad bowl, add arugula and blood orange segments and toss with some of the vinaigrette. Add vinaigrette to desired coating.

*Cooks Note: Be sure to have your wild arugula dry for best coating. When adding vinaigrette put in a little at a time so as to not overdo the vinaigrette. Remaining vinaigrette will last fine for a week or so in the refrigerator.

No-recipe Recipes

Blood oranges add a lovely color and flavor to dishes – you can add them to just about anything, from soufflés to hollandaise. Here are a few suggestions:

• Juice – Juice up a few blood oranges and drink up the fresh-squeezed juice

• Sauce for Scallops or Halibut – Sauté 2 minced shallots in a bit of butter. Add juice of 2 oranges. Stir in four tablespoons butter a bit at a time and let melt slowly over medium heat stirring. Pour over sautéed scallops or baked halibut. Serves 4

• Blood Orange Oil on Grilled or Roasted Salmon – This is one of the easiest best seafood dishes. Purchase blood orange oil from Sigona’s Farmers Market in Palo Alto or Redwood City – we have a signature blend of olive oil where the olives have been pressed with whole blood oranges. Drizzle this flavorful and aromatic oil on top of grilled or roasted salmon and sprinkle with good sea salt. You don’t need anything else!

• Crepes – Fill crepes with sweetened mascarpone cheese. Make a sweet orange sauce with blood orange juice and sugar simmered to melt sugar and sauce reduced slightly. Think of it as an easier, creamier, Crepes Suzette.

• Maltaise – A classic French sauce of hollandaise flavored with blood oranges. Delicious served with asparagus, crab, or other seafood.

• Grand Marnier Soufflé – Stir a tablespoon of juice into a Grand Marnier soufflé before baking. Serve soufflé with a blood orange sauce and segmented oranges

• Beet Blood Orange Salad – Toss roasted beets with peeled sliced blood oranges and make a blood orange or citrus vinaigrette. Serve on watercress or as a side for grilled seafood, pork, or chicken.

• Marmalade – Make or buy blood orange marmalade. Spread on toast, melt and pour over vanilla ice cream, or spread over a rich chocolate cake before you frost it.

Cara Cara Orange Recipes

Cara Cara oranges.

Here are a few ways to enjoy Cara Cara oranges (besides our favorite, which is peel-and-eat):

• A simple salad of shaved fennel and sectioned orange is a light, refreshing palate cleanser — and offers eye-pleasing contrast in texture and color. Pale, crisp fennel offsets the deep pink color of the Cara Cara.  Toss together with sea salt, cracked pepper, and a splash of olive oil.

• Combine Navels, Ruby Red grapefruit, and Cara Cara oranges to make a citrus compote for pancakes, waffles, vanilla ice cream, and plain yogurt.

Grilled Salmon with Sautéed Cara Cara Oranges

This recipe, adapted from Sunkist, is a fresh and easy way to use Cara Cara oranges. Paired with the salmon, this meal will make your taste buds, immune system and heart happy. Serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 4 fresh salmon steaks, about 4-6 oz. each
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro leaves
• Zest and juice of one (1) Cara Cara orange
• 2 Cara Cara oranges, peeled with a knife to remove the white pith, and cut in 4 slices each
• 1 Tbsp. + 2 tsp sesame oil, divided
• Sesame seeds (optional)

Directions: Pat salmon steaks dry with paper towels. Coat shallow baking dish with cooking spray or olive oil and place salmon steaks in pan.

In a separate bowl, combine garlic, cilantro, zest and juice, and1 TBL of sesame oil. Stir to mix and reserve 1/4 cup marinade for grilling. Pour remaining mixture over salmon. Place in refrigerator and let marinate for 30 minutes.

Prepare grill at medium-high heat. (Use grilling basket if possible.) Remove salmon from marinade, shake off excess and grill until fish flakes easily, about 8-10 minutes on each side, brushing with reserved marinade every so often. Transfer salmon to plate; cover to keep warm until serving.

In nonstick skillet, heat remaining 2 tsp sesame oil, and place sliced Cara Cara pieces in pan. Cook until just warmed, only about 1 minute on each side. (Cooking longer will cause slices to fall apart.) To serve, top each salmon steak with two sautéed orange slices and sprinkle with sesame seeds.