Serenade Yourself into a Dreamy Citrus Season.
Winter’s brightly coloured citrus usually arrives around the start of the new year. Many people look forward to it every year with a great deal of excitement. Just thinking about the juicy, sweet, and acidic navels, blood orange s, pink pomelo, Oro Blanco, and Meyer lemons at my local farmer’s market in San Francisco makes me excited. Sunset-colored mess: My feeds quickly turn into piles of salads and citrus upside-down cakes that are topped with thick slices of orange from January
Pinwheels are pretty and all, but they don’t have to be the only way to make a circle. There are oblong jewels in the form of supremed citrus segments that could be a good choice. Sure, cutting a cara cara orange into slices that are free of pith is a little more work. It can also be a great time for us to improve our own knife skills in 2022 if we have a sharp blade and a little extra time. You’ll get juicy, plump bursts of citrus in every bite, without having to chew at all, which is great.
When cutting citrus into rounds, it starts out the same way: An orange’s peel is cut off to show the inside of the fruit. It’s not like you cut the fruit into rounds. Instead, you just cut out the fleshy parts, separating them from the membranes. There are a few ways to do this, including one that cuts down and around the membrane, making a piece. If that doesn’t work, you can just cut two slices as close to the membrane as possible, making a small segment in the membrane.
In my recipe, I say that you should do the latter. But the most important thing to remember is that you need a sharp paring knife. When you use a blade that’s too dull, it can cut and juice out parts of the fruit, making the whole thing worthless. As a last resort, you can keep your citrus in the fridge. Cold citrus is more stable and easier to cut than warm citrus, but it’s also a lot more juicy.
One way to enjoy a dreamy citrus season like a navel orange or a ruby red grapefruit is to pair it with avocado, which is a winter fruit. Buttery avocado scoops in the shape of supremes are what we’re talking about here. There will be a lot of juice in the membrane that is left after all of the segments have been cut away with care. First, I like to squeeze some of that juice over the segments to keep them from drying out. Then, I like to pour that sweet-acidic juice over the scoops of avocado, citrus, and avocado with the segments. A salad that can be dressed itself.
