Blood Orange Compote is a quick, simple recipe for enjoying these delicious but short-lived citrus fruits. Even if you track down some blood oranges, they don’t last long in the kitchen. Making an orange compote is a great way to enjoy them a little longer.
It is flavoured with chilli, turmeric, and rose peppercorns, giving a delicious spicy zing to yoghurt and pancakes. It is equally good stirred into your morning porridge. Try it with any cheese. It pairs particularly well with soft cheeses such as feta or cottage cheese or spooned inside a ripe burrata.
I have added a little turmeric to the recipe, but this is optional, as the flavour does come through and may not be to your taste. Peeling the oranges is fiddly but worth the effort. Apart from the fact that it spoils the taste, the pith also looks ugly. You can use regular oranges in the recipe. The blood oranges I used were not that red – the crop suffered severely from the heat wave last year; many are very small, and many are slightly only slightly red.
Drizzle Blood Orange Compote over our French Crêpes—a great weekend breakfast.
There are lots more jams and marmalades here.
Blood Orange Compote
Ingredients
- 4 blood oranges or regular oranges
- 1 tsp orange zest from one of the oranges
- 1 tbsp light brown sugar
- pinch chilli flakes
- ¼ tsp turmeric
- ½ tsp pink peppercorns
- pinch salt
- 1 tbsp honey
Instructions
- Peel the oranges over a small saucepan, removing all the pith and white veins. You can also remove the orange flesh from the segments for an even softer compote. It depends on the freshness of the orange as to whether you need to do this.
- Measure the juice and add enough water to make 150ml.
- Add the sugar to the pan – swirl it around so it dissolves. Add the orange zest and spices and set the pan over a low heat.
- Gently simmer until the juice is thick and syrupy. Remove from the heat. Add the tablespoon of honey and stir gently until dissolved.
- Spoon into a clean jar and keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
- Delicious with pancakes, yoghurt, porridge and cheeses such as feta and cottage cheese. It is particularly good with really ripe burrata.
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