Stray Foodie Lockdown Recipes are written by Michelin-starred chef, Frances Atkins. In 1997, Frances opened the Yorke Arms near Pateley Bridge, where she was the owner for 20 years. During her ownership, she held her Michelin-star status for 16 of those years.
“I’ll be bringing you some of my favourite recipes each week. I’d love to see how you make the recipes your own – let me know by using #StrayFoodie or tagging @thestrayferret in your social media posts.”
The Seville orange is prized for making British marmalade as it is higher in pectin than the usual sweet orange.
Introduced to Spain and many other parts of the world, but native to South East Asia, there are many varieties of this beautiful bitter sweet orange. For example some are used in essential oils and herbal medicines. The peel can be used for the production of bitters and also dried, ground and candied.
There is just so much you can do with this wonderful orange as well as the much publicised British Seville orange marmalade that we make at this time of year. Some recipes seem to me to be very complicated with others being relatively simple. The red orange is far more beautiful to look at but in my opinion does not have the versatility of the Seville. The Seville’s depth of flavour it is a wonderful accompaniment to fish, meat and vegetable dishes.
For a classic Seville Orange Marmalade:
Ingredients
- 1 kg of Seville oranges
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 2kg of granulated sugar
Method
Wash the oranges well and place in a pan with approx. two litres of cold water. Cook slowly whole.
When cool, remove the oranges from the liquid, reserving the liquid. Cut the oranges in half, spoon out the inside of the orange and place in a piece of muslin. Tie with string forming a bag.
Shred the orange and place back in to the reserved liquid. Add the sugar and the muslin bag and the lemon juice. Bring to the boil for approx 10-20 minutes until it sets.
To check is has set, drop a little of the marmalade on to a saucer with a drop of water and it should wrinkle. Remove the muslin bag and discard.
Place your marmalade in sterilised warm jars.
For a Red Orange Gel
Ingredients
- 4 red oranges
- 100g water
- 130g sugar
- Approx 1 teaspoon of agar according to packet instructions, optional.
Method
Zest one of the oranges and juice all. Add all the ingredients together. Reduce by half, making a syrup, and pour through a sieve. Add the teaspoon of agar for a gel, or just use the syrup.
Cheese Fritters with a Red Orange Dressing
Ingredients
- 150g of chickpea flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 3 tbsp of finely grated manchego or a similar cheese
- Chopped parsley
- Chopped thyme
- 2 spring onions, chopped
- 1 tbsp of olive oil
Method
Place the flour in a bowl with the spring onions and baking powder. Season.
Add 2ml of cold water and mix together to form a batter. Stir in the grated cheese and chopped thyme and parsley.
Heat the oil in a sauté pan and drop the fritters in as if you were making scotch pancakes.
To make the dressing:
- 1 tsp of mustard
- 2 tsp of sherry vinegar
- 4 tsp of olive oil
- Red orange syrup
Beat all ingredients together.
Serve the fritters with a salad of your choice – avocado, crunchy leaves, red chicory and finely diced fennel is delicious. Lastly, your red orange gel and dressing.
