Winter Gatherings (15 page)

The entire fruit is edible, although eating is easier if the seeds are removed. While one could simply serve sliced kumquats macerated in sugar or liqueur, I prefer to cook them to soften their texture and mellow their tartness. Try adding them to homemade cranberry sauce, or simmering them on their own with some sugar to make a quick warm topping for ice cream.

Chocolate and Orange Tart

Makes 8 servings

Every baker needs a surefire showstopper, something guaranteed to garner oohs and aahs from dinner guests, and this tart is one of my tried-and-trues. First of all, it’s hard to find someone who doesn’t love chocolate. Second, it is very easy to make—the pastry crust doesn’t even require rolling out. The color combination of deep brown chocolate and neon-bright orange segments is dramatic, especially when you use both navel and blood oranges. Consider making this for Valentine’s Day.

C
RUST

1 cup all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted butter, thinly sliced

1 large egg yolk, beaten with 1 tablespoon water

F
ILLING

5 oranges, preferably a combination of navel and blood oranges

1½ cups heavy cream

9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

• 1.
  To make the crust, pulse the flour, sugar, and salt together in a food processor fitted with the metal chopping blade to combine. Add the butter and pulse about 8 times until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. With the machine running, add the yolk mixture and pulse just until the mixture clumps together. Transfer to a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Firmly and evenly press the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Pierce the dough all over with a fork. Freeze for 30 minutes.
  
• 2.
  Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400°F. Place the tart pan on a rimmed baking sheet. Line the dough with aluminum foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until the exposed edge of the crust looks set and is beginning to brown, about 15 minutes. Lift off the foil with the weights. Continue baking until the crust is golden brown, about 15 minutes more. Transfer to a wire cake rack and let cool completely.
  
• 3.
  To make the filling, grate the zest from 1 orange and set aside. Cut off the peel from each orange. Working over a bowl to catch the segments and juice, using a serrated knife, cut between the membranes to release the segments. Cover and refrigerate the oranges and juice until ready to serve.
  
• 4.
  Bring the cream to a simmer in a heavy medium saucepan. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate. Let stand until the chocolate softens, about 3 minutes. Whisk until smooth. Add the butter, corn syrup, and orange zest, and whisk again. Pour into the cooled crust and smooth the top. Refrigerate until the filling is set, at least 1 hour. (The tart can be refrigerated, uncovered, for up to 1 day.)
  
• 5.
  Just before serving, drain the orange segments (drink the juice as the chef’s treat), and pat them dry on paper towels. Arrange the orange segments on the chocolate filling. Cut into wedges and serve chilled.
  

Blood Oranges

One morning in Italy, my breakfast glass of orange juice was a shocking deep red color, and the flavor was less acidic than usual, with hints of berries. I had just been introduced to blood oranges.

At that time, there were only two kinds of American oranges—the California navel orange (the first choice for eating) and the Florida Valencia juice orange. I learned that the Italian oranges were actually Tarocco oranges from Sicily. If I had had my first blood orange experience in Spain, I surely would have been served the Spanish variety, called Sanguinello (
sangue
is Spanish for blood). The oranges get their dramatic red hue from anthocyanin, a pigment that is found in red flowers and plants, but isn’t common in fruits.

A few years ago, I noticed that the blood orange, like so many other Italian foods, had made the jump over the Atlantic. Farmers in California were growing a new strain of blood orange, the Moro. Later, a second blood orange found its way into the market, the Cara Cara. Most people won’t care about the difference, but the Cara Cara isn’t a true blood orange, it is a mutation and its color comes from lycopene, the same pigment/antitoxicant that colors papaya, tomatoes, and watermelon.

The season for blood oranges runs from November to May, with its peak in January and February. They are great fun to cook with, for with their unexpected color and berrylike flavor, they always end up being a subject of conversation.

Pear Soufflés “Hélène”

Makes 6 servings

My friend and
Bon Appétit
food editor Kristine Kidd is very selective about her dessert calories, so when she reported that she ate her entire helping of this elegant soufflé, I knew I had a winner. It is a reconstructed version of the classic bistro dessert Poires Hélène, poached pears with chocolate sauce. For the best results, the pears must be very ripe and juicy, so buy them a few days ahead and let ripen at room temperature.

C
HOCOLATE
-C
OGNAC
S
AUCE

2/3 cup heavy cream

5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

2 tablespoons Cognac, brandy, or pear liqueur

S
OUFFLÉS

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for the soufflé dishes

5 ripe Comice or Anjou pears (about 2½ pounds total), peeled, cored, and cut into ½-inch dice

½ cup sugar, divided, plus more for the soufflé dishes

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

3 large eggs, separated, plus 1 large egg white, at room temperature

• 1.
  To make the sauce, heat the cream in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat until simmering. Remove from the heat. Add the chocolate and let stand until chocolate softens, about 3 minutes. Add the Cognac and whisk until smooth. (The sauce can be made 1 day ahead, covered, and stored at room temperature.) Set the sauce aside.
  
• 2.
  To make the soufflés, butter the insides of six ¾-cup soufflé dishes or ramekins. Coat the insides with sugar and tap out the excess. Place on a rimmed baking sheet.
  
• 3.
  Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of the pears and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to brown around the edges, about 6 minutes. Sprinkle with 1½ tablespoons sugar and cook until the pears are caramelized and the juices are thick, about 3 minutes longer. Transfer to a bowl. Repeat with the remaining butter, pears, and another 1½ tablespoons of the sugar. Stir in the lemon juice.
  
• 4.
  Using a slotted spoon, transfer all of the pears to a food processor or blender, reserving the pear juice in the bowl. Puree the pears. (The puree can be prepared up to 2 days ahead, covered and refrigerated.)
  
• 5.
  Transfer the puree to a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan. Whisk the egg yolks into the puree. Heat over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is very hot but not boiling. Transfer to a medium bowl.
  
• 6.
  Beat the egg whites in a separate medium bowl with a hand-held electric mixer set on high speed just until soft peaks form. One tablespoon at a time, beat in the remaining 5 tablespoons sugar and beat just until shiny peaks form. Stir one-fourth of the whites into the pear mixture to lighten it, then fold in the remaining whites. Spoon into the prepared dishes (the dishes will be full).
  
• 7.
  Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375°F. Bake until the soufflés are puffed and golden brown, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, stir 2 tablespoons of the reserved pear juice into the chocolate sauce and gently reheat the sauce over low heat just until warm; do not boil. Pour into a sauceboat. Serve the soufflés immediately, with the chocolate sauce served on the side. Allow each guest to pierce a hole in the center of their soufflé and pour in the sauce.
  

Pears

In order to develop their full flavor, pears need cool evenings, which extends their growing season well into the fall, and they store deep into the winter. Most American pears are grown in Oregon, Washington, and northern California, and are shipped throughout the country, although you will find some locally grown pears outside of these major growing regions.

Pears are one of the few fruits that are meant to be ripened off the tree, as they turn gritty otherwise. So plan ahead when serving pears, as you will rarely find ripe ones at the market. Bring them home and let them ripen at room temperature until they have a slight give when pressed at the neck, a process that takes a few days. To hasten ripening, close them in a paper bag with bananas to trap the ethylene gas the fruits give off. Never refrigerate pears until they have reached the desired state of ripeness.

Pears are often nicked during shipping from the stems on the other fruits in the box (for this reason, expensive “fancy” pears are hand-wrapped in tissue and nestled individually in boxes before transporting), so if you want perfect pears for presentation, choose them carefully.

You will find quite a range of flavors and textures in the pear varieties, which arrive at different points of the season. Bartletts (with either yellow or red skins) and Anjous (green or red) are juicy and sweet and wonderful for eating out of hand. Comice pears are larger and loaded with honeylike juice. Firm, russet-colored Boscs are good for baking because they hold their shape after heating. Small Seckle or Forelles are great for serving on cheese platters, as their small size makes for nice individual servings.