Is it possible to fall in love with an orange. I think so…it happened to me. I had a short love affair with a few blood oranges yesterday. Obsessed, I posed & photographed 7 little blood oranges for a good part of my day. Whole, cut, peeled, the peel itself, juiced, all together, separately…from the front, from the back, overhead, sideways.
Don’t you just love that color….a crimson red, a sexy red, a not-a-red-flannel nightgown red. This color takes my breath away…I am gobsmacked…I am enchanted. The colors of the planet Mars via National Geographic!
I couldn’t stop at posing these beautiful orbs…I needed to turn them into delicious drinkables for later & edibles for right now. So six of my blood oranges are presently becoming “Blood Orange-cello” and Jam…..more about those at a later date, and one very special little “red planet” was turned into four tartlets.
An easy & simple recipe for “Bloody Sweet Orange Tartlets”
Ingredients:
Enough pie dough for 4 small tart pans
Raw or Turbinado sugar
4 ozs softened cream cheese
1 large egg
1 Blood Orange, peeled, pith removed & thinly sliced
How to make it:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll pie dough out into 4 thin circles & loosely fit into tart pans. Sprinkle each with 1 tsp of sugar. Place tart pans on a sheet pan & bake for about 6 minutes or until very lightly browned. Remove from oven.
2. In a small mixing bowl whisk together the softened cream cheese, 2 tbsp sugar & egg until smooth. Evenly divide filling between the 4 tart pans.
3. Place one slice of the blood orange on top of each filled tart & sprinkle with additional sugar. Bake for about 20-25 minutes until golden brown & puffy.
4. Eat warm from the oven if you can, but these little tarts are great the next day.
A Little Blood Orange Gallery:
Just in case you are interested:
Blood oranges’ red pigment, anthocyanin, is an antioxidant. The pigments begin accumulating in the vesicles at the edges of the segments and at the blossom end of the fruit, and will continue accumulating in cold storage after harvest. Due to its pigments the blood orange contain greater amounts of antioxidants than other oranges. Blood oranges have a unique flavor profile compared to other oranges, being distinctly raspberry-like in addition to the usual citrus notes.
Blood oranges are a source of vitamin C like all citrus fruits. A medium-sized (154g) orange also provides 28% of the recommended daily intake of dietary fiber. Oranges can also be a valuable source of folate, calcium, and thiamine.
Bon Appetit, Goodbye February and Hello March.
OMG! Stunning! How do you find the time along with all the other amazing things you do? Gracious…..
I think I am a bit, or a lot, or somewhat of a whirling dervish…or OCD…but I like the dervish idea better.
A tasty, tasty work of art!
…I want one…
It took me a bit to figure out who JEF was and then I was so happy you stopped by and left a comment. I visited your blog last evening and read what you had written on all your entries. You write so beautifully and I look forward to visiting Echo Lake Road often.
…thanks, T…I’m hungry…
So gorgeous, and so simple. Blood oranges are such a treat for the senses. Thanks!
Simply beautiful Teresa! Cheers
Mark, thank you so much for dropping by. It is always a treat when you pay a visit.
Blood oranges are rare, and they can only be found in my local supermarkets when they are in season. Maybe it’s because it’s rare that most of the people are not really favoring it, and its color just led so many to believe that it’s a cross between an orange and a grapefruit:p
I am a fan of oranges too, and I have tried blood oranges before too, and they are good 🙂 We may not get them often, but I am content with my navel oranges as well:D
Christy, you are so right about blood oranges being seasonal. We only get them in the winter months so I try to eat them while I can. Soon they will disappear from the markets and I will be a little sad, but anticipating next winter’s bounty.
Brilliant. Beautiful blood oranges shine in this simple but perfect dessert.
Beautiful fruit that blood orange.
Only you can have a lovely “afternoon delight” with an amazing blood orange !!
Sunday Bloody Orange, yes they are delicious i was fortunate to taste the first one. I will use as so many pictures before the one of the orange as my spring screen saver. Beautiful.
Beautiful looking tartlet…better than anything I could have created. 🙂
so pretty teresa!
i bought a blood orange by mistake the other day. i thought it was just an orange (i don’t buy a lot of oranges)… i cut into it…and immediately checked to see if my fingers were still intact. luckily, they were. and the orange was insane.
I know how you feel, the first time I cut one open it ran all over the cutting board and I was sure I had hit a digit! Aren’t they the most remarkable citrus…other than the Buddha’s Hand?
is engaging a tartlet against the law? i hope not cause this sounds too good.
I am sure there is some new Republican law about women and blood oranges! Or it is one their list!
A wonderful way to showcase the blood orange.
Yes, there were more blood oranges left at my house yesterday from a video shoot so I was up this morning dipping slices in sugar & sea salt and taking more pics…more blogs to come!
Wow oh wow! Simply heavenly n delicious! Love the bright red color 🙂 I never tried blood orange yet but looks like I will be giving it a try soon. Thanks Teressa.
Grishma, you must get them soon as they are very, very seasonal around here and will be disappearing from the markets any day now! Hurry for a fun treat!
Love your photographs of these little Mars-like orbs, whose color always shocks–in such a delightful way. good to learn the why and how behind that brilliant pigment.
I know, I was fascinated by all that scientific information…but to me they are just little red planets!
I just saw this and don’t know how i missed it. Tarts are my all time favorite food, but add blood orange and have it look like this and I’m in all the way.
This looks very good especially bloody orange. This would be a nice mid morning snack.
Very creative.
Wow, that’s beautiful and I love all the flavours. We can’t get blood oranges easily here but I sure wish I could so I could try your recipe.
At some point this month, I’m going to finish my Hunger Games food series and then do a round up of foods around the web I think would fit. This is surely to be on that roundup because the Second book is called Catching Fire. I keep coming back to this post, wishing i would have made these. 🙂
These look fabulous, and I bet they taste it too. Perfect for a party.
I may be completely out of line here, but would it be disrespectful of me to wonder what this would be like with a some chocolate sauce? Just asking. – Kyle