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![]() ![]() www.wineoftheweek.com edited by Sue Courtney e-mail address: winetaster@clear.net.nz
My tangelo tree groans with its bright orange fruit most of the year round. Just one of the two trees, that is, the one in the confines of the garden. The other is in the back yard and is very alluring to possums, so much so that the little blighters have just about stripped the tree for the last couple of years before we manage to trap them. But the one tree does us very well, thank you very much. So I had this urge to make some candied peel and the tangelos were there. Why not, I thought? Candied Tangelo Peel ![]() All you need is citrus, water and sugar. Tangelos are ideal, as the skin is thin with very little pith. Cut four or 5 tangelos from the tree as close to the stalks as possible (the skin tends to rip at the stalk if you just pull them off). Now I kind of followed the method in the Womans Weekly Cooking Class Cookbook. Put the peel in the sieve to one side. * * * One thing leads to another and I thought that candied tangelo halves might make a suitable edible container for a delicious dessert. So I volunteered to make some for our New Years Eve dinner. I was going to fill them with a chantilly cream of some sort but my sister wanted to make Panna Cotta. Accompanied with a de Bortoli Semillon 1994, it turned out to be a most delightful combination for the last course of our last meal of 2002. ![]() Candied Tangelo Bowls Place the 'bowls' into a saucepan and cover with water. They will tend to float so watch how much water you are adding. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Drain. Repeat three more times, reserving the liquid from the last boiling. Now you need to make enough sugar syrup, using half-and-half reserved liquid and tangelo juice to an equal quantity of sugar. Because of the floating problem I used a tall cylindrical container and place the 'bowls' in this, one on top of the other, skin side down, and filled the top bowl with polished tumbled quartz gemstones to weigh the lot down. This ensured they were totally immersed in the liquid. Note that the peel will now be quite soft, you will have to handle them carefully so they do not tear. Steep for at least 8 hours. Return 'bowls' and syrup to the saucepan. Add half as much sugar again, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Drain and reserve the syrup. Place the 'bowls' skin side up on the drying rack, allow to dry off a little before drying further in the fan oven for an hour at 100°C. I used the 2/3rd's sized bowls for the dessert. The remaining bowls have been stored in an airtight container for later use. Panna Cotta You will need - Beat together the cheese and the creams with the vanilla sugar in a stainless steel bowl. Place into a double boiler and stir gently until mixture is almost boiling and melted. Stir in lemon juice and the gelatine, which has been dissolved in the water. Heat for one to two minutes longer. Put enough of the panna cotta aside to fill the citrus peel bowls when it has cooled. Pour the remainder of the mixture into a large greased mould or smaller individual greased moulds, to set. Use some of the candied peel made earlier - or slice one of the excess 'bowls' into thin slices - to decorate your dessert. * * * BBQ'ed Smoked Salmon Fillet marinated in Citrus Syrup and Dill and served with a Creamy Dill Sauce. ![]() I bought a whole fillet of smoked salmon and marinaded this in a cup of the reserved tangelo peel syrup left over from the candied peel process. Cover the salmon with copious amounts of fresh dill fern. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours, basting occasionally during this period. When it come time to cook, completely encase the salmon fillet in tinfoil, then heat over the BBQ, turning once. Creamy Dill Sauce Mix all ingredients together and leave for at least an hour before serving in order to let the dill flavour infuse into the sauce. Decorate the salmon with the sauce and more dill fern, and use one of the reserved Candied Citrus Bowls as a container in which to serve additional sauce. For a wine accompaniment I chose Pinot Gris. * * * * A Salad Bouquet Accompany the salad with the creamy dill sauce. © Sue Courtney |
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E-mail me: winetaster@clear.net.nz