Blood Orange Roasted Chicken

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I thought I would quickly throw together this amazingly satisfying recipe for a weekend meal idea since we really enjoyed it! It’s the blood oranges! It’s the chicken thighs!

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What is your pick-me-up food when you are under the weather? Mine is Japanese mandarins. While laying on a thick futon, fighting a high fever for a few days during our Japan trip, that was the only thing I wanted to eat. They possess just the right juicy sweetness plus plump succulent meat with great acidity. They are tiny yet burst in your mouth: just a perfect fruit to quench one’s thirst. Coincidentally, Ninomiya, the suburb where we stayed with my sister, is one of the country’s most important producers of Japanese mandarins. Upon recovery, I truly enjoyed the crisp walk weaving through the orange fields under the sun.

 

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Those days seem already a faraway memory, so I tried to find my beloved mandarins in a local market in order to savour their unique flavour once more. Unable to find  the Japanese variety, I discovered red hued blood oranges instead. I simply could not resist their scent so I brought some back home with me. I ate some raw, slurped their flesh and paired them with roasted chicken for supper. I find it very refreshing when the garlicky, tangy citrus juice mixture meets the greasiness of the chicken. Another quick and easy yet delicious dish following my last post! The next day, I nestled the reheated leftover chicken pieces on the freshly cooked spaghettini, squeezed the roasted slices of blood orange over top and drizzled it all with the gravy. It was really an unexpected treat after having been soaked during a cold rainy night.

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Blood Orange Roasted Chicken

Serves 4

2 ½ pounds chicken thighs, bone in and skin on

Marinade

3 garlic cloves

½ teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon smooth Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon whole grain Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons soy sauce

½ cup freshly squeezed blood orange juice (about 2 -3 oranges)

1 tablespoon white wine

3 tablespoons olive oil

Few sprigs of thyme

2 blood oranges, sliced into ½ inch thick pieces

3 tablespoons all purpose flour for gravy

Using a pestle and mortar, mash the garlic. Slowly add the salt and make into a creamy paste. Add the mustard and combine well. Transfer into a small bowl and add the soy sauce, orange juice, wine, oil and thyme. Mix well.

Rinse the chicken pieces and pat dry. Marinate them in the orange juice mixture in a large rimmed dish. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Turn the meat upside down to ensure that it thoroughly marinates when half way done.

Preheat the oven to 325F. Place the chicken and sliced oranges in an ovenproof large heavy bottomed pan, making sure the thighs are not overlapping; pour the marinade liquid over top. Roast for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a thermometer inserted in the thick part reads 165F. Baste the chicken a couple of times during the roasting.

Transfer the chicken to a serving platter and make gravy. Add the flour to ½ cup water and stir well. Whisk the flour mixture into the remaining liquid in the pan and bring to a boil. Stir constantly and continue to boil until the desired thickness is achieved.

Serve with roasted orange slices and gravy sauce.

 

Roasted leeks, carrots and mushrooms

Serves 4

4 large carrots, cut in half and quartered lengthwise

2 leeks or a bunch of baby leeks, cut into 2 inch pieces and halved lengthwise if thick

2 cups mushrooms, washed with ends removed

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper

Coat the vegetables well in oil, salt and pepper. Place them in a baking sheet and roast in the 325F oven for 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.

Serve warm.

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Plum Upside-Down Cakes + Grand Marnier Ice Cream

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Has your long awaited dream come true recently? One of mine just did with the sweet and juicy fragrance of Japanese plums wafting all over our house and garden. The name of the plum tree “Beauty” somehow coincides as if celebrating a realization of my will. I have kept a twelve-year-old fine COOKING magazine, the September issue to be exact, that features two pastry chefs in a challenge to improvise a plum dessert using a limited number of ingredients. From there, one recipe particularly grabbed my heart so much that I was determined to plant my own plum tree(s) in a future garden and bake this recipe with the very fruits from the tree. I have baked this recipe a number of times but now that I can finally harvest my own hard-earned fruits, I can report that it was a splendor well worth waiting for! You undoubtedly have your own dreams. Let them come true by maintaining a strong will, desire and a little patience.

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Plum Upside-Down Cakes

The recipe calls for smallish plums that are ripe but firm. I used my Japanese “Beauty” plums, and they worked wonderfully with their nice balance of sweetness and acidity to accompany a big dab of Grand Marnier ice cream.

Makes eight 8-oz ramekins

10 oz. (2½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature

Extra butter for greasing the ramekins

¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar

6 medium-size red plums, pitted and sliced 1/8 inch thick

½ cup plus 1 tablespoon milk

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

6 oz. (1½ cups) cake flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼  teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

Grated zest of 1 orange

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Butter the ramekins. Heat the oven to 350F.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine 6 oz. (1½ sticks) of butter with the brown sugar, whisking until smooth and combined. It’s okay if you still have sugar granules.

Immediately pour into the bottoms of the buttered ramekins, dividing evenly. Arrange a layer of plum slices in each ramekin, overlapping them slightly, using smaller slices to fill any gaps.

In a small bowl, combine the milk and lemon juice. The mixture will curdle and that is okay.

In another bowl sift together the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

Cream the remaining 4 oz. (1 stick) of butter with the sugar and orange zest in a mixer. Add the eggs and vanilla, and mix to combine.

Alternately add the dry ingredients and the milk mixture, mixing just to combine.

Divide the batter among the ramekins. Arrange the ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until the cakes are firm to the touch and the juices are bubbling, 35 to 40 minutes, rotating the sheet midway through baking to ensure even cooking.

Let cool on a rack until warm. Run a paring knife around the inside edge of each ramekin, invert onto a plate, and gently lift it off the cake. Top each cake with a scoop of Grand Marnier ice cream (recipe below).

*If you’ve baked the cakes ahead, heat the oven to 350F, set the ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet and heat until just warmed, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Adapted from Karen Barker’s recipe from fine COOKING.

 

Grand Marnier Ice Cream

This dessert is a perfect way to chill out during hot summer afternoons. It also happens to be a perfect match for the Plum Upside-Down Cakes.

Makes about 1L

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

2 cups whipping cream

2 cups whole milk

¼ cup to ½ cup Grand Marnier

Beat the eggs and milk together in a large saucepan. Add sugar and cook over low heat, whisking constantly until thickened, about 15 to 20 minutes. This is the time to dream about your future. Instead of yesterday’s thoughts, let’s imagine and dream, not necessarily about a plum tree but whatever suits your fancy; and of course, don’t forget to keep whisking! The mixture should smoothly coat the back of a spoon.

Strain into a large bowl and cool. Then, add the cream and Grand Marnier starting from a small portion. Taste it and adjust the amount of liquor.

Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. Churn the mixture according to the manufacturer’s instructions. You can transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and store in a freezer to encourage further solidification.

See more ice cream recipe here.