Olive Oil and Orange Cake

I've always been intrigued by the idea of baking with olive oil, which is why I decided to try this recipe of Mario Batali's for Olive Oil and Orange Cake. Wow, it is delicious. Not too sweet, and it could just as easily serve as a morning treat with coffee as an after-dinner dessert.

Mario recommends serving it with whipped cream, creme fraiche, or yogurt. I opted for thick, plain yogurt and some lemon zest. The cool sourness of the yogurt worked incredibly well against the dense, citrus-spiked still-warm cake. I polished off the whole thing single-handedly in under a week.

Olive Oil and Orange Cake

Makes 6-8 servings

6 medium oranges
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 large eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder

Preheat the oven to 350F. Oil a 9-inch round cake pan.

Using a grater, zest all the oranges, and juice one of the oranges. (Reserve the fruit for another use.) In a small bowl, combine the zest, juice and olive oil. Set aside.

In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the eggs and salt until frothy and light, about 2 minutes. Slowly beat in the sugar, and continue to mix until pale and thick, about 2 minutes more.

Sift the flour and baking soda together, and gradually beat into the egg mixture. Fold in the citrus zest mixture just until incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and cool to room temperature.

Courtesy Molto Italiano, Mario Batali, HarperCollins, 2005

Roasted beet and goat cheese salad with orange vinaigrette

I roasted beets for the first time last summer and the results were a revelation. Sweet, tender, and nothing like the over-vinegared jarred ones I remember from childhood. They pair incredibly well with tangy goat cheese, so tonight I made a salad with those two ingredients as the base.



I added some spring greens, chopped walnuts for crunch, and a homemade orange vinaigrette (homemade salad dressings are so much better than bottled and they're a snap to whip up). I'm not one for making a meal of a salad, but if the ingredients are interesting enough, and filling enough, it can be pretty satisfying. This one filled me up nicely.

Roasted beet and goat cheese salad with orange vinaigrette

4 medium sized beets, roasted*, peeled and chopped
1 navel orange
bagged spring greens (or buy in bulk, enough for about 2 cups worth per serving)
1 small log of goat cheese
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper

*Roasting beets: wrap cleaned beets in foil, then place on a baking sheet. Roast in 375F oven for about an hour. Beets are done when you can easily pierce them with a knife. Wearing rubber gloves, peel skins off beets and slice.

Make vinaigrette by first zesting the orange and putting zest in a Mason jar. Then halve the orange and using a citrus reamer, squeeze the juice into the jar. Then spoon in the mustard, followed by the olive oil. Add some salt and ground black pepper. Pop the lid on the jar and shake until emulsified. Add more salt and/or pepper if needed.

Clean the salad greens and place in a big bowl for mixing. Add the sliced beets and walnuts to the greens, and mix in the vinaigrette. Use tongs to ensure the dressing is uniformly distributed. You may not need all of the dressing, you don't want the ingredients to be dripping with it. Place in serving bowls and top with chunks of goat cheese.

Serves 4.

Enjoy!

Suzanne

Spring Means Citrus

I mentioned yesterday that with spring just weeks away, and the weather already warming up, I'm craving fresh, bright flavours, especially citrus. Well it appears I'm not the only one.

Image courtesy André Karwath

Saveur magazine just put together a lovely photo gallery of dishes featuring citrus flavours, with links to the recipes of course. Candied Orange Peels, Roasted Ham With Orange Glaze, Lemon and Coriander Marinated Olives, just to name a few. Yum!

I'm thinking of trying a few -- in particular the Orange and Radish Salad, and the Lemon Tart.

Bring on spring, and the citrus!

Salut!

Suzanne

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