Oranges were the only fruit during a stay with my son in the Black Mountains where we cooked the books of Francis Mallmann, a chef worth discovering, particularly if you barbecue. He raves about briefly cooking oranges in end-of-bbq cinders. They emerge grey and dusty but once peeled and sliced, the flavour is amazing. I served them with cream made with equal quantities of mascarpone, crème fraiche and sheep’s yoghurt slackened with a slug of Amaretto. The flavour of my no-cook version is augmented with rosemary and lime, the cream topped with pistachios. Both versions are highly recommended.
Serves 4
Prep: 20 min
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp boiling water
1 sprig rosemary
4 large navel oranges
2 tbsp mascarpone
2 tbsp crème fraiche
2 tbsp sheep’s or Greek yoghurt
1 lime
2 tbsp shelled pistachios
Dissolve the honey in 1 tbsp boiling water in a small bowl. Bruise the rosemary and immerse. Slice the ends off the oranges then slice down and round the orange taking peel and pith. Squeeze the peel into the bowl. Halve the orange down the centre, cut out the ‘core’ to remove the pith and any pips. Slice across the halves and pile onto 4 plates or a platter. Drain any juice into the bowl. Beat together the mascarpone, crème fraiche and yoghurt until smooth. Add a generous squeeze lime and 1 tbsp juice. Pour remaining juice in the bowl over the oranges. Place the pistachios between the fold of a clean tea towel and smack a couple of times with the rolling pin. Add a spoonful of cream to the servings and garnish with pistachios.