14 Favorites with Citrus Fruits

How, oh how would we get through winter without citrus fruits? I’m serious about this. While I’m in favor of preparing food with as many locally-produced ingredients as I can, I make a considered exception when something bright and cheery like an orange, lemon, or tangerine from many, many miles away has the power to enliven a totally dreary winter day. Plus, we probably are all aware of just how loaded these fruits are with vitamin C and fiber. One must think of one’s health, you know.

It doesn’t hurt that citrus fruits are at their best when so many other fruits are at their worst. They’re there in the dark and cold days to save a cake, cookie, muffin, sauce or even a main dish for dinner. Here are my favorite recipes from The Messy Apron Archives that celebrate that special seasonal ability. Featured here are lemons, limes, oranges, grapefruit, kumquats, and tangerines. They lend their special charms to many kinds of recipes, sweet and savory.

Ok, it is true that most of my favorites here are recipes for sweet treats. I especially love to put citrus zest in cookies like Lemon, Lime, and Basil Cookies (this time of year, look for some hot-house fresh basil from a producer near you, or grow your own if you have a sunny windowsill.), or these similar Orange Butter Cookies.

I was pleasantly surprised by how well these Orange and White Chocolate Cookies reinterpret the flavor of Creamsicles.

There’s also this delicious recipe for Lime Bars with Graham Cracker Crust.

Cakes are probably an even better vehicle for perky citrus flavors. This Glazed Orange Pound Cake is fairly simple to put together and packs a punch of sweet orange goodness.

Another simple cake is this Rosemary Raisin Tea Cake with Lemon, which also features one of my other favorite winter saviors: dried fruit.

For a fancier dessert, there’s Lemon Layer Cake,

which gets its lemony goodness in multiple forms, including Lemon Curd.

If you’ve already got some plain cake, like this yogurt cake, or some vanilla ice cream, this Kumquat Riesling Sauce is just the thing you need to dress it up for winter.

If something less sweet is needed, say, for breakfast, there’s this recipe for Orange Millet Waffles.

And my favorite way (so far) to use a grapefruit is in these Grapefruit Scented Muffins with Warm Spices.

Sugar and spice shouldn’t get all the fun, though. I really like this savory application of kumquats, clementines, and lemon: Celery and Citrus Salad with Walnuts and Parmesan.

And I like to mix this Roasted Meyer Lemon Chutney into cream cheese for a fabulous veggie dip or bagel spread.

Finally, there’s Pork and Tangerine Stir Fry for getting some citrus into a main dish.

However you like your citrus, sweet, savory, or simply peeled and eaten straight, I hope you have as much fun with them this winter as I plan to have. Enjoy!

Another post like this one: 10 Favorites with Fresh Cranberries

Celery and Citrus Salad

This just in: Citrus Fruits Save Winter! As much as I love the rutabaga, it just doesn’t bring as much hope and light into the kitchen as a bowl of brightly colored, juicy citrus fruits. And it’s not just lemons and oranges anymore.

Take this salad, for instance. It’s my lazy interpretation of the “Clemenquat Salad” in the fabulous book Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson (also the author of the blog 101 Cookbooks). As you might guess from its whimsical name, this salad is loaded with clementines and kumquats. It also gets a hefty crunch from a base of sliced celery and some walnuts. Shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese balances the tart acidity with some salty nuttiness as well.

While this recipe comes from Super Natural Cooking, the inspiration to try it comes from my determination to eat kumquats this year. (I know. Aim high!) I knew the local co-op carried them in the winter and I kept my eyes peeled for them when I read this recipe. I can’t remember when I last ate a kumquat, which is kind of like eating a teeny tiny orange whole, but I do remember thinking they were fabulous, if a bit weird. Their pulp and juice tend to be quite sour and have a flavor that’s similar to those of oranges and tangerines, but with the kumquat’s own unique character. The peel is faintly bitter, but I find it milder than other citrus peels, and it complements and quiets the strong flavor of the pulp.

Thinly slicing little kumquats is a bit of a labor of love, but they made this salad so uniquely delicious, it was worth the effort. I followed the suggestion in the original recipe to use a serrated knife and that worked well. I added a bit of honey to the dressing to tame the overall tartness of the fruit just a bit, but this is still a pleasantly sour citrus salad. Since I rarely eat green salads in the winter, and can only take so many winter vegetable slaws I think I’ll find this perky dish a welcome addition to my winter dinner table.


Celery and Citrus Salad with Walnuts and Parmesan
Adapted from Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson

½ cup chopped walnuts
3 clementines
10 kumquats
4 large celery ribs
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon honey
2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ teaspoon coarse salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper (a few grinds from a pepper mill)
about ¼ cup coarsely-shaved Parmesan cheese

1. Place the walnuts in a small skillet and heat over medium-low heat until just beginning to brown. Remove from heat and cool completely.

2. Peel the clementines and separate the sections. Cut the sections in half crosswise and place them in a medium-size bowl. Thinly slice the kumquats (a serrated knife works well for this), removing any seeds as you go. Add to the clementines in the bowl.

3. Remove any large strings from the outer surface of the celery ribs. Slice the celery very thinly on a diagonal. Add the celery to the clementines and kumquats.

4. In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice, honey, olive oil, salt and pepper. Whisk together until smooth and emulsified. Pour over the citrus and celery in the bowl. Toss very gently to coat. Gently stir in the Parmesan shavings and cooled walnuts.

Makes about 4 side-dish servings.


One year ago: French Toast Casserole with Cardamom and Pears

Two years ago: Slow Cooker Pulled Pork and Pasta with Sqash Puree and Blue Cheese Sauce