Jan Bilton: Magical marmalade (+recipes)

Mandarin Muffin

Marmalade may be thought of as a British creation but the name comes from the Portuguese word "marmelos", a quince paste that was originally served as an after-dinner digestive. It was introduced to Britain from Portugal in the 1500s packed in wooden boxes - very expensive and heavily promoted for its medical and "aphrodisiac" powers.

These days, marmalades are prepared from all types of citrus and sometimes combined with other fruits such as tamarillos, kiwifruit or tomatoes.

Oranges, grapefruit, mandarins, sanguinelli (blood oranges), Ugli fruit, lemons, limes and tangelos are but a few of the citrus varieties cultivated worldwide. New varieties are constantly being discovered and developed.

MANDARIN MUFFINS

Most small mandarins are pip free but check and remove any.

INGREDIENTS

125g butter at room temperature, chopped

cup caster sugar

2 eggs, at room temperature

1 cup self-raising flour

cup ground almonds

cup (125ml) vanilla yoghurt

300g small mandarins, peeled and chopped

Orange marmalade to serve

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 190C. Lightly oil a 9-hole muffin pan. Beat the butter and caster sugar until creamy. Slowly beat in the eggs. Beat in the flour, ground almonds and yoghurt. Fold in the mandarins.

Spoon into the prepared muffin holes. Bake for 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre come out clean.

Great served warm topped with a little melted marmalade.- Makes 9

ORANGE & KUMQUAT MARMALADE

Lemon, lime or grapefruit marmalade can also be prepared this way.

INGREDIENTS

750g oranges

250g kumquats

2 litres water

2kg sugar

METHOD
Halve the oranges and kumquats and remove any pips. Roughly chop the fruit. Place the fruit in batches in a food processor or blender with water to cover. Process until finely chopped. Repeat with the remaining fruit and water.

Pour all the water and fruit into a preserving pan or large saucepan. Bring to boiling point and simmer for 1 hour. Remove from the heat and stir in sugar, until well dissolved. Boil rapidly until the marmalade reaches setting point, 104C. Stir occasionally with a wooden spoon to ensure the marmalade does not stick on to the base. Remove from the heat, pour into hot sterilised jars then seal. -Makes about 10 cups

LIME MARINATED CEVICHE

Ceviche is a Latin American recipe for marinated fresh fish. Suitable New Zealand fish for dish include: tarakihi, trevally, snapper, kahawai, hake, john dory and blue nose.

INGREDIENTS

Marinade: red onion, diced; 2 cloves garlic, crushed; 1 small chilli, seeded and diced; 1 tbsp each grated root ginger, flaky sea salt; tsp sugar; cup chopped coriander; cup freshly squeezed lime juice

Salad: 500g skinned and boned white fish; 2 firm but ripe tomatoes, thinly sliced; coriander and micro greens to garnish

METHOD

To make the marinade, place all the ingredients - except the coriander and lime juice - in a blender and mix, until smooth. Add the coriander. Cover and chill for 1 hour. Meanwhile, trim the fish if necessary. Holding a sharp knife at a 45-degree angle, slice the fish into 5mm pieces. Transfer to a large plate as you go, aiming for a single layer of slices that overlap slightly. Cover and chill, until required. Strain the marinade through a sieve, pressing down on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Stir in the lime juice. Arrange the tomatoes on the platter with the fish. Drizzle with the marinade. Garnish. -Serves 4 as a starter

DELISH MARINATED ORANGES

Prepare up to two days in advance.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup orange juice

3 tbsp each: apricot jam or marmalade, orange liqueur

6 navel oranges

Garnish: 1 cups water

cup sugar

1 tbsp caster sugar

METHOD

Simmer the orange juice and the jam in a saucepan until the mixture is reduced by half. Stir in the liqueur and cool. Thinly peel two oranges and reserve the peel for the garnish. Peel the remaining oranges, removing as much pith as possible. Place the oranges in a bowl and pour the cooled sauce over the oranges. Chill.

To prepare the garnish, cut the reserved peel into very thin strips. Bring 1 cup of the water to the boil, add the peel and simmer for 8 minutes.

Drain and rinse in cold water. Bring the remaining 1/4 cup of water to the boil. Stir in the sugar, until dissolved. Add the peel and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Toss in the caster sugar. Reserve the syrup and add to the oranges when cool. Top each orange with a little peel. Excellent served with creme fraiche. -Serves 6