In season right now and bursting with flavour, New Zealand oranges bear little resemblance to their bland cousins imported from overseas.
Unfortunately, getting your hands on the local stuff can seem almost as hard as trying to grow them yourself.
Fruit from America and Australia has traditionally supplied New Zealand during our off-season but now the convenience of having cheap oranges, available all year round, has come at the cost of flavour, taste and ultimately choice.
As consumers, however, we hold enormous buying power. At Riverstone Kitchen we always prefer New Zealand oranges and harangue our suppliers to get them for us.
We are also not above calling in favours from long-suffering extended family members back north to get our hands on the good stuff.
Last year Auntie Jude, from Kamo, near Whangarei, sent over 60 cases of amazing fruit to supplement our stocks. Much of this came from orchards no longer in business, sadly awaiting the developer's axe.
In similar fashion, we were in Motueka last week and passed by a dilapidated orchard absolutely laden with gorgeous, fat fruit, many of which were simply falling on the ground. Almost a crime.
And what to do once you secure yourself a supply of great New Zealand oranges? Get busy of course because eating them is only half the fun.
Citrus and ricotta go extremely well together, as proved in the delightfully delicate orange, ricotta torte. Similar to a traditional baked cheesecake but lighter in texture and easier on the sugar, this sweet treat is sensational.
An orange and fennel salad is a perfect accompaniment for pan-fried sole, confirming the fact that it's not just lemons that go well with fish.
Finally, who can say no to a great homemade marmalade and with a splash of whisky, it's a done deal.
• Bevan and Monique Smith own the award-winning restaurant and cafe Riverstone Kitchen on SH1 in North Otago, just south of the Waitaki bridge. www.riverstonekitchen.co.nz
Orange and whisky marmalade
Makes 6-8 300g jars
8 large oranges, thinly sliced with skin on
2.7L water
2kg white sugar
½ cup whisky
Place oranges in a stainless-steel pot and cover with water overnight. Bring oranges and water to the boil and simmer for 40 minutes or until fruit becomes soft and pulpy.
Measure the liquid into another pot, adding the same amount of sugar to the mix. Bring to the boil, stirring until setting point is reached.
Add whisky and cook for a further minute. Store in airtight containers or sterilised glass jars.
Pan-fried sole with orange and fennel salad
Serves 4
350g fresh sole fillets
4 medium-sized agria potatoes, boiled and sliced
2 medium fennel bulbs (or 1 large) finely shaved
1 oranges, segmented
juice of 1 orange
½ red onion, thinly sliced
½ cup Italian flat leaf parsley, picked and washed
¼ cup fennel leaf, shredded
160ml extra virgin olive oil
Toss salad ingredients together in a large bowl with orange juice and 40ml of olive oil and season to taste.
Sauté potatoes in a hot, heavy-based frying pan, with 40ml olive oil, until golden brown in colour. Remove from pan and divide between four plates.
Divide salad equally, placing on top of the potatoes.
Quickly fry sole fillets in the remaining olive oil and arrange immediately over salad and enjoy!
Orange, ricotta torte with marmalade ice cream
Serves 12
700g fresh ricotta, drained
200g cream cheese
zest of 5 oranges
zest of 2 lemons
6 free-range eggs
1 cup caster sugar
1 cup pouring cream
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla essence
Place ricotta and cream cheese in a mixing bowl and beat in an electric mixer with paddle attachment for three to four minutes on medium to high speed. Add eggs, one by one, until incorporated well.
Add remaining ingredients and mix until just combined. Mixture will have a fairly runny consistency.
Pour into a precooked sweet-pastry base. Place into a 150degC oven and bake until just set. Refrigerate for one and a-half hours before serving with marmalade ice cream.
To make marmalade ice cream, simply take one tub of good-quality vanilla ice cream and leave out to soften slightly. Place ice cream into a large mixing bowl and add 200g of good marmalade. Mix together, return to tub and refreeze for three to four hours before serving.
Sweet pastry
90g unsalted butter, room temperature
50g icing sugar
1 free-range egg yolk
150g plain flour
Mix all ingredients together in a food processor, just enough to bring the pastry together. Turn out and knead lightly on a floured surface. Roll into a ball, wrap in cling wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes or overnight.
Unwrap and roll pastry out between two sheets of plastic wrap until about 3mm thick and about 30cm to 35cm in diameter. Peel away one side of the plastic wrap and line a 28cm tart ring, with the remaining sheet of plastic facing upwards.
Cover with another sheet of plastic, fill with baking beans and blind bake for 15 to 20 minutes in a 180degC oven until golden brown. (Placing a second sheet of plastic down before filling with beans will prevent the plastic from splitting and spilling the beans.) Allow to cool before removing beans.
