Peel away the winter blues with these delicious citrus recipes. 

Orange and butternut soup with blue-cheese crumble  

Serves 4  

Ingredients 

3 Tbsp butter
1 onion, peeled and chopped
750g butternut, peeled, seeded and diced
2 potatoes, peeled and diced
1 orange (½ zest + ¼ cup juice)
3 cups vegetable stock
½ cup thick cream + to serve
½ tsp cinnamon
Salt and milled pepper
100g blue cheese
Coriander, to serve 

Method 

1. Melt the butter in a pot and fry the onion until soft.
2. Add the butternut, potatoes, orange zest and juice, and stock. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until veggies are soft, 30 minutes.
3. Transfer to a food processor and blitz until fairly smooth.
4. Return the soup to the pot and add the cream, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Bring to the boil and heat through.
5. To serve the soup, crumble the blue cheese over it, add a swirl of cream and garnish with coriander.

 

Recipe & styling: Diane Heierli
Photography: Christoph Heierli 

 

Asian-style sticky orange chicken 

Serves 4  

Ingredients 

¼ cup marmalade
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp grated ginger
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
8 chicken thighs or drumsticks
2 oranges, halved
1 red onion, peeled and cut into wedges
⅔ cup chicken stock
150g rice noodles, cooked 

Method 

1. Preheat oven to 200°C.
2. Mix marmalade, soy sauce, mustard, ginger and garlic in a bowl. Add the chicken and toss to coat.
3. Place the chicken in an oven dish, add the oranges and onion, then pour the stock over.
4. Bake covered for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 20 minutes, until the chicken is cooked and golden brown.
5. Serve with rice noodles.

 

Duck leg with orange, fennel and watercress 

Serves 4  

Ingredients 

4 duck legs
2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and milled pepper
5 oranges, 1 zested and juiced, 4 halved
¼ cup sugar
2 star anise
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 bulb fennel, sliced
90g watercress 

Method 

1. Preheat oven to 160°C.
2. Place the duck in a bowl. Add 1 Tbsp oil and season. Toss to coat. Place the duck skin-side down in a pan. Cook over high heat for 5 minutes until browned. Place in a roasting tin, skin-side up.
3. Place the orange zest and juice, sugar, star anise, fennel seeds and ½ tsp salt in the pan the duck was cooked in. Cook over medium heat for 15 minutes to form a glaze.
4. Pour the glaze over the duck and add the orange halves. Bake for 20 minutes.
5. Remove the duck from the oven and transfer to plates to rest. Add the fennel bulb to the roasting tin and bake for 8 minutes.
6. Dress the watercress with the rest of the oil and season.
7. Serve the duck legs with the baked fennel and orange, and the watercress.

Quick tip: To check if your bird is ready, make a small incision near the bone. If it’s done, the juices should run clear. And this works with chicken as well! 

 

Orange meringue pie 

Serves 6  

Ingredients 

1 roll shortcrust pastry
1 tin condensed milk
3½ oranges
4 eggs, separated
¾ cup caster sugar 

Method 

1. Preheat oven to 200º C. Grease and line a tart tin. Press the pastry into the tin.
2. Bake blind for 10 minutes and then set aside.
3. Lower oven to 180º C.
4. Mix together the condensed milk, the zest and juice of 2 oranges, and 4 egg yolks.
5. Pour into the crust and bake for 20 minutes.
6. Bring ½ cup caster sugar and ¼ cup water to the boil. Cook until the syrup is a rich amber colour.
7. Whip 3 egg whites until foamy. Beating continuously, drizzle in the syrup until stiff and glossy.
8. Spread the meringue over the top of the pie and pop under the grill until browned. Refrigerate.
9. In a pot, bring the juice of 1 orange and ¼ cup caster sugar to a simmer. Cook until the sugar is dissolved.
10. Thinly slice ½ an orange and add to the mixture in the pot. Simmer for 20 minutes. Use orange slices to decorate your pie.

 

Recipes & styling: Chiara Turilli
Photography: Samantha Pinto