Blood Oranges

Blood oranges are in season right now. They are absolutely beautiful, as well as delicious. In fact, they were the inspiration for not one, but two of our dishes for Easter brunch. I managed to convince both chefs to share their creations.


The first was a blood orange mimosa. We had our drink master, Mr. Aaron Browning, mix up a little sumpin'-sumpin'. Here's how:

Blood Orange Mimosa
8 oz. Freshly Squeezed Blood Orange Juice
1/2 gal. Organic Orange Juice (not from concentrate)
1 Bottle Chilled Sparkling White Wine (or Champagne)
Grand Marnier (to taste)

Fill six champagne or white wine glasses about 40% full with bubbly. Add a splash of liqueur to taste. Fill the remainder of the glasses with the fresh blood orange juice equally divided among them. Then add regular orange juice to top them off.

Serves six.

WARNING: According to what happened at Easter, drinking alcoholic beverages may induce sleep and increase the likelihood of the need for an early-afternoon nap.

The second dish, composed by Monika, was a delightful and fresh salad composed of fennel and blood oranges. It sounds fancy, but is just as easy as it is delicious.

Fennel Blood Orange Salad

1 bulb fresh fennel
3-4 blood oranges
1 lemon
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt

Quarter the fennel and rinse between the sections to remove any fugitive dirt. Chop the bulb into rough bite-sized chunks, and finely chop the stalks and ferny fronds. Peel and section the blood oranges and cut each section into bite-sized pieces. I like the ratio of fennel to orange to be about even, but you can tailor to your personal preference. Toss in a bowl with a couple tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, the juice of the lemon, and sprinkle with 1/8-1/4 tsp salt to taste. If the blood oranges are on the sour side (which they rarely are), you can adjust with a bit of sugar or agave. Let sit at room temperature for a bit to allow the flavors to muddle and the salt to draw out some of the juices. Adjust seasoning to taste before serving. Best the first day it is made. Any kind of orange can be substituted for the blood oranges if they aren’t in season – tangerines and clementines work nicely because they tend towards the sweeter side of the citrus spectrum.

Enjoy!