Its indeed a nice sight to see a cart filled with bright oranges. And for ages the health benefits of starting the day with orange juice have been emphasized in the Western part of the world.
The Vitamin C enrichment that this fruit provides is well known, but the freshly squeezed juice has only 25% of the Vitamin C of the whole fruit. The greatest concentration of this nutrient is in the coloured peel and the white pith which we unfortunately ignore.
Besides protecting the juicy flesh of the orange, the colored, outermost layer of the fresh peel holds the aromatic essential oils that carry the aroma and flavor of the fruit. When dried, the peel takes on a robust orange flavor with spicy overtones that can be used for flavoring tea, adding to spice rubs for dry-marinating meat or poultry, or flavoring baked goods.
Even the bitter white pith and seeds (pips) have special uses. In traditional recipes for marmalade, the flavor is intensified by adding the peel - with the pectin-rich pith left on to promote gelling as the preserves cook - and water in which orange seeds have soaked for a day.
To gain the most from an orange, here is a recipe:
SALAD OF ROASTED BEETS WITH ORANGE
Makes 4 to 6 servings
5 medium beets
3 oranges
1 medium onion
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/ 3 cup olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper , to taste
Butter lettuce
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Trim away beet tops. Scrub beets but do not peel. Place beets in a medium-sized roasting pan. Add water to half the depth of the pan. Cover and bake until beets are tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on size of beets.
When cool enough to handle, peel and cut into 1 /2-inch dice. Transfer to mixing bowl.
Grate the zest of one orange. Halve and squeeze orange to yield 2 tablespoons juice. Peel and section the remaining 2 oranges. Slice onion and combine with orange segments.
Whisk together grated orange zest, the orange juice, lemon juice and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon some of the dressing over the beets and over the onion-orange mixture. Keeping the beets and orange-onion mixtures separate, toss to coat with the dressing. Cover and refrigerate separately, at least 1 and up to 6 hours.
Let stand 15 minutes at room temperature before serving.
To serve, line a shallow serving bowl or individual salad plates with lettuce. Arrange beets atop lettuce leaves. Top with onion-orange mixture. Spoon any remaining dressing over.
PER SERVING: 196 calories; 3 g protein; 20 g carbohydrates; 5 g fiber; 13 g fat (2 g saturated); 0 cholesterol; 76 mg sodium
Via: The Columbus Dispatch
