Zest, anyone?

Today we made a salad so incredibly tasty I’m just dying to share it.  I promise to post pictures as soon as I get a chance to practice at home.

“LA SALADE D’ORANGE ET ZESTES CONFITS”

We’re supposed to write the names of our French recipes in all caps because capitalized French words don’t require funny accents over the letters.  Cool, eh?

Ingredients:

• oranges
• simple syrup

Method:

1. Remove zest and pith from oranges
2. Julienne zest
3. Triple blanch zest
4. Cook zest for 10-15 minutes in simple syrup
5. Slice oranges, top with zest and drizzled syrup

The long version:

Take 2 oranges.  Slice both ends off, and carefully peel each orange from top to bottom with a paring knife, removing as much pith (white, bitter stuff) as possible.  Maintain the round sides of the orange as you angle the knife downward.  Don’t throw the skins away!  You need the zest.  Technically, you can get it before peeling the orange by use a vegetable peeler but where’s the fun in that?  This way gives you more control over the shape.

Use the paring knife to remove the rest of the white pith from the zest.  Once you have pretty orange chunks, slice the zest julienne style.  You want it very thin like angle hair pasta.

Next, add the zest to a pot of cold water and bring it to a boil.  Blanch for one minute, then drain with a fine mesh strainer.  Repeat this procedure two more times.

Create a simple syrup from 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water, bringing them to a boil in a medium sauce pot.  Don’t stir, just let the sugar melt and the syrup will form itself.  Once it’s at a nice consistency where the syrup coats the back of a spoon while hot, add the zest and let it cook for 10-15 minutes.  Scoop the zest out of the pot onto a plate and let it stiffen up while you plate the rest of the salad.

Make sure you’ve removed all the pith and then slice the oranges and arrange them in a circle on a plate, layering one over the other.  Artfully place the candied zest in a circle on top of the oranges and then drizzle with simple syrup.

Impress your guests!

Update:

I made this tonight and took a picture, but the quality of the photo isn’t great.  It tastes good!