The Chunky Chef: Oven-Roasted Breakfast Potatoes with Caramelized Onions and Bacon

What do you make for a brunch when you don't want to do another quiche?  And you have some picky eaters attending?  Something that no one is going to turn down: roasted potatoes with bacon.  The only downside is having to sniff the delicious aromas of this dish during the whole drive to the appointed brunch location.  I only wish this was on the breakfast menu every day, but I'd also be twenty pounds heavier.

Oven-Roasted Breakfast Potatoes with Caramelized Onions and Bacon
From The Chunky Chef blog

2 pounds red-skin potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks
6 slices applewood smoked bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 yellow onion, diced
1 to 2 tablespoons bacon grease
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, minced
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Minced fresh rosemary, for garnish
Minced fresh thyme, for garnish

Cook bacon slices in a skillet, removing with slotted spoon to a paper towel lined plate to drain. Reserve bacon grease.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

In large bowl, combine potatoes, onions, herbs and seasonings, and reserved bacon grease and toss well to evenly coat potatoes.  Arrange in single layer on baking sheet. Bake for about 40 minutes, tossing halfway through, until potatoes are golden brown and crispy.

Top with crumbled bacon pieces and minced fresh herbs to garnish.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Andrew Zimmern and Larousse Gastronomique: Canard a l'Orange (Duck in Orange Sauce)

I have been waiting for quite a while to make this recipe, as I wanted to be true to the original intention and use sour oranges for the sauce.  So many recipes advised adding vinegar to sweet orange juice, but it just didn't feel right to me.  This is a fancy French dish, and vinegar seemed a little...cheap.  But that also means you have to wait until you can pick up some sour oranges at the store, which for me meant waiting until Seville oranges showed up.  The marinade adds a nice flavor to the duck, and the three different liqueurs in the sauce add a nice depth.  However, a lot of work for moderate results.

Note: I thought 2½ hours to roast the duck was a bit long, and it felt a little overdone to me, especially if you like your duck on the medium-rare side.  If I made this again, I would watch the internal temperature a little closer and pull it out when it was at my desired temperature.  Just cooking the breasts may also be an option.  I also thought the sauce was a bit thin, so I'd probably work on thickening it more the next time.

Canard a l'Orange (Duck in Orange Sauce)
Adapted from Andrew Zimmern and Larousse Gastronomique

1 (4- to 5-pound) duck
1 sweet orange (such as Valencia), cut into quarters

Marinade:
3 cups fresh squeezed orange juice
¼ cup honey
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder

Sauce:
1 large shallot, minced, sautéed in 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
¼ cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons Grand Marnier
3 tablespoons Mandarin liqueur
3 tablespoons apricot liqueur
Grated zest of 1 Seville orange
1 cup Seville orange juice
4 cups duck stock
1 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder
3 sweet oranges (such as Valencia), supremed

Combine the orange juice, honey, and 1 tablespoon Chinese five spice powder.

Prick the duck all over with a sharp fork and loosen the skin with your fingers. Place the duck in a large pot and massage with the marinade. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 8 hours.
Remove the duck from the marinade and pat dry inside and out; discard the marinade. Set the duck on a rack set over a roasting pan and refrigerate uncovered for 24 hours. Remove the duck from the refrigerator 2 hours before roasting.

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Stuff the quartered orange into the duck's cavity.  Season with salt and sprinkle the remaining 1 teaspoon of five spice powder over the duck.  Roast the duck for about 2½ hours, until the skin is deeply golden and crisp: Every 45 minutes, tilt the duck over a bowl to drain the liquid from the cavity, then replace it on the rack. Prick the skin to release the fat and baste the duck with the fat in the pan.

In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar and 1 teaspoon water. Bring to a simmer over moderate heat and cook until lightly caramelized. Stir in the stock, orange juice, Grand Marnier, shallot, orange zest, and five spice powder (it will bubble a lot). Simmer over moderate heat until the sauce is thickened, about 30 minutes. Season with sea salt. Strain the sauce through a fine sieve, add the orange supremes, and serve with the duck.

Makes 2 to 4 servings

delicious.: Seville Orange Tart

Because I can't get enough of Seville oranges, I decided to use a few stragglers in this delicious tart that is a nice orange curd nestled in a flaky crust.  Seville oranges are more bitter than regular oranges, but also more floral, so there's a nice nuanced bite to this tart that you don't find when cooking with a variety like Valencia oranges.  A little goes a long way with this dessert, so you can do small slices, but I highly recommend also adding a dollop of fresh whipped cream on top.

Note: Make sure to grease the tart pan well, as the crust likes to stick.  Also, this recipe was converted from metric, so you may need to weigh some of the ingredients.

Seville Orange Tart
Adapted from delicious. magazine

For the pastry:
6 ounces all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
1¾ ounces confectioner's sugar

Sea salt
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled, cut into small pieces, plus extra for greasing
Finely grated zest of 1 small orange (not Seville, such as Valencia)
1 large egg, separated
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed orange juice

For the filling:
4 Seville oranges (or the grated zest of 4 small oranges and the juice of 2 lemons and 2 oranges)
5 large eggs, plus 1 extra yolk
9 ounces granulated sugar
¾ cup heavy cream

To make the pastry, sift the flour, confectioner's sugar, and a small pinch of salt into a food processor; add the chilled butter and the orange zest. Pulse until it looks like fine breadcrumbs, then tip into a mixing bowl.

Mix the egg yolk with the orange juice, add to the bowl, then stir with a round-bladed knife until the mixture starts to come together into a ball. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly until the mixture forms a smooth dough.  Roll the pastry out thinly on a lightly floured surface, then use to line a greased, 1½-inch deep, 9-inch loose-bottomed tart pan. Prick the base all over with a fork, then chill for 20 to 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line the pastry case with a crumpled sheet of baking paper and a thin layer of beans or rice, then blind-bake for 12 to 15 minutes until the edges of the pastry are biscuit colored. Carefully remove the paper and beans/rice, then return the pastry case to the oven for 3 to 4 minutes.

Beat the egg white until slightly frothy, then brush it over the base and sides of the pastry case. Return the case to the oven for another 1 to 2 minutes until set. Remove and leave to cool. Turn the oven down to 250°F.

For the tart filling, finely grate the zest from the Seville oranges, then set aside. Squeeze the juice from the Seville oranges (or from the lemons and 2 of the zested oranges) to give ¾ cup. Break the eggs into a bowl, add the granulated sugar, then whisk lightly with a fork until just mixed but not frothy. Strain in the citrus juice, add the heavy cream, then mix briefly. Strain through a sieve into a large measuring jug, then stir in the citrus zest. 

 
Partly pull out the shelf of the preheated oven, slide the pastry case onto it, then pour in the filling. Carefully slide the shelf back in and bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until just set. It should still be a little wobbly in the center, but will firm up as it cools. Remove and leave to cool, but don’t refrigerate. This is best served, cut into wedges, on the day it’s made.

Makes 8 servings

The Proper Marmalade Company: Seville Orange Marmalade

I can't believe it's that time of year again!  There are only a couple of seasons that I keep track of, and they aren't spring, summer, fall, and winter.  They are: Seville orange season, ramp season, morel mushroom season, and truffle season.  Yes, I know I have a problem.  And no matter what, as soon as I see those Seville oranges, I immediately purchase a bagful and worry about making something later.  This time I decided to try a marmalade recipe from a company in the UK because that's basically the homeland for orange marmalade.  This one is a little different in that you cook the whole oranges and only cut up the peel after they're nice and soft.  This actually ended up as a multiple day project, but the end result is pretty tasty.  It firms up pretty well, but keep some liquid pectin on hand in case you want it a little bit firmer.

Note: I ended up adding about 6 pounds of sugar to the mix, as I had 6 pints of liquid and peel.

Seville Orange Marmalade
From The Proper Marmalade Company

3 pounds Seville oranges
2 large lemons
6 pints water
Granulated sugar (exact quantity will depend on the juice content of the fruit, see recipe)

Wash the fruit to remove all dust and dirt.

Cooking the fruit whole makes the skins easier to cut. Put the whole fruit in a pot, lemons on the bottom, cover with the water and bring to the boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and cover.

After about 20 to 30 minutes turn the fruit over so the lemons are at the top and the top fruit submerged. Simmer for a further 20 minutes. They are done when a knife pierces the orange skin with little resistance.  Take off the heat, keep lid on and allow to go cold, preferably overnight.

Keep all the cooking water. Cut the fruit in half and squeeze. You can use an electric squeezer or scoop out the flesh with a spoon and fork. Add the pulp and juice to the cooking water but discard all pips.

Slice each half-orange skin in half again, then cut width-ways into strips as thick or thin as you like. Add the shredded skin to the reserved juice, cooking water and measure. For each pint of this mixture, you will need one pound of sugar.  Return the prepared fruit mix to the pot and add the sugar. Bring to a rolling boil and boil for 30 minutes only.

Test for a set: with a metal spoon take a small sample of the liquid, dribble a little onto a saucer, placing the spoon and the saucer in the fridge for a few mins. One or other of the samples should wrinkle when nudged with your finger . Stir, then let the marmalade stand for 15 minutes before canning for even distribution of peel. A skin may start to form which can be stirred in before canning. If the wrinkle test didn’t work, and no skin starts to form, reboil for no more than 5 minutes.

Pour into sterilized jars and seal immediately.

Makes about 8 half pint jars

Peachy Palate: Paleo Almond Joy Bars

So what do you do when Valentine's Day rolls around, and the person who is your valentine is on a Paleo diet?  I mean, that pretty much rules out every box of goodies in the store, which is a bit of a bummer, frankly.  Well, if you're a little enterprising, you get on trusty Pinterest and search the crap out of Paleo desserts (just a warning - coconut features heavily).  Now, I'm a huge fan of Almond Joy candy bars, so when this little number popped up, I knew it was what I would be trying.  For something with basically no sugar in it, these turned out pretty well, but I kinda missed the syrupy texture of the coconut base, so I may have to do some additional tinkering.  No complaints from the valentine, though. ;)

Paleo Almond Joy Bars
Adapted from Peachy Palate blog

Filling:
2 cups desiccated coconut

2 tablespoons coconut flour
¼ cup coconut oil, melted
¼ cup coconut butter, melted
2 tablespoons coconut cream
Seeds from one vanilla bean, or 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, or 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
2 tablespoons raw honey or maple syrup

Almond butter topping:
⅓ cup smooth all-natural almond butter (no sugar added)
2 tablespoons raw honey
2 tablespoons coconut butter, melted
16 roasted unsalted almonds

Chocolate coating:
10 ounces 90% – 99% dark chocolate

2 tablespoons raw honey or maple syrup
1 tablespoon coconut oil
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Blitz all the filling ingredients together in your food processor to break up the coconut a bit.  Set aside for 5 minutes.

Divide the mixture into eight mounds on a parchment or wax paper-lined baking tray that you can fit into your freezer with ease.  Using your fingers, shape the coconut mixture into bars, similar to a fun size Almond Joy bar. Alternatively, you can place the mixture in a silicon ice cube tray and make mini Almond Joy bars or use round molds to make into cup shapes.  If using your hands, wash them after each bar and leave them a little damp. Place the tray of shaped bars in the freezer for at least an hour until completely frozen.

Meanwhile, combine the almond butter topping ingredients in a small bowl. Place in the refrigerator to firm up for 30 minutes, then roll little thick strips of the mixture and place on top of each of the coconut bars. Stick two almonds on top of each bar and return the tray to the freezer overnight to ensure the bars are frozen through.

Melt the chocolate and coconut oil together; add sweetener and vanilla. Remove the bars from the freezer; one at a time, dunk them in to the chocolate mixture carefully using a fork and spoon.  The spoon drops them in, and the fork then acts as the lifting tool to gently tap off excess chocolate. Repeat with all bars. You may need to re-coat the first couple of bars as the melted chocolate thickens a little bit, and the latter bars usually end up with a thicker chocolate layer.

Place the bars on a parchment or wax paper-lined tray as you finish coating them. As the chocolate firms up, drizzle with any remaining chocolate and place in the fridge to set for 30 minutes before serving.

These will keep in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator for up to one week or freezer for up to one month. They only take about 20 minutes to thaw out at room temperature.

Makes 8 bars

Wild Greens and Sardines: French Lentil and Bone Marrow Stew

I really think I spend too much time on Pinterest, but there are so many amazing recipes, I can't help myself.  And when I see an especially delicious picture that includes an ingredient I've been hoarding (hello, marrow bones!), I am especially interested.  I had never really thought of including marrow bones with lentils, but it makes sense that the rich marrow could serve to season the legumes and add a little fat to what is already a pretty nutrient-dense dinner.

French Lentil and Bone Marrow Stew
Adapted from Zahav: A World of Israeli Cooking and Wild Greens and Sardines blog

4 (approximately 4-inch) beef marrow bones
Sea salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 celery stalk, diced

1 leek, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 cup tomato puree
2 tablespoons baharat spice blend (see below)
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
2 cups dry white wine
1½ cups French puy or Beluga lentils, rinsed
1 quart chicken stock
½ cup chopped cilantro
½ cup chopped parsley, plus extra for garnish
Couple sprigs of rosemary
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

Place the marrow bones in a large pot. Cover with cold water and several pinches of salt. Soak for 2 hours. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450°F. Drain the marrow bones and pat dry. Place the bones in a roasting pan and roast until the marrow is lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Let cool. Extract the marrow from the bones. Set aside.

Heat the olive oil over medium-low heat in a large soup pot or Dutch oven. Add the onion, carrot, celery, leek, and garlic and sauté until soft, but not browned, about 15 minutes. Add the tomato puree and cook 5 minutes. Increase the heat to medium-high, add the baharat spice blend, black pepper, and wine and cook until the wine has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Raise the heat to high, add the stock and lentils, and bring to simmer, scraping the bottom of the pan, releasing any bits that may have stuck to the bottom.

Add the reserved marrow bones, including the extracted marrow, along with the cilantro, parsley, rosemary, and lemon zest. Cover and lower the heat to a simmer. Cook until the lentils are tender, about 45 minutes. Salt to taste.

Ladle into bowls. Place a marrow bone in the center of each. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Makes 4 servings

Baharat
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
¾ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground clove
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Pinch ground cardamom

Combine all seasonings thoroughly.  Store in an airtight container.