This week, we're conducting an experiment: we give you a "grab bag" of three different items, and you come up with a recipe that uses all three. If things go well, we may do this again. But for now, your assignment is to come up with a great dish using blood oranges, feta and mint -- think outside the box!
These are not your usual contests. We have a slightly nutty system but it works. Together, the Food52 community has created two cookbooks this way -- there’s no stopping us now. Read about it
Read about it »
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Blood orange, feta, honey, mint, yogurt.
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Weighing the yogurt.
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Merrill adds some crumbled feta.
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Merrill has an audience while she blends the yogurt and feta.
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Tiny taste test.
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And that's it -- into a container and then off to the freezer!
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Zesting a blood orange.
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Cutting around the flesh -- use a sharp knife!
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The orange zest, pulp and mint leaves all go into the food processor.
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Bzzzzzzz!
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Merrill color coordinated with the granita!
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Then you strain it.
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And then it joins the frozen yogurt in the freezer.
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Use a sturdy fork to scrape up the granita as it freezes.
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This is what it looks like when it's properly scraped.
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Looks like Amanda just made a funny!
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Right before she went at the feta and ricotta, Amanda said, "What am I doing, mashing? Oh, good -- I love mashing." And pounding, and grinding, and pulverizing...
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Segmenting oranges: one of Amanda's pet peeves, but one of Merrill's favorite kitchen activities. See, guys: we're not the same person!
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Our blood oranges had amazing color variations.
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Make sure not toss the membranes after you remove the segments -- you'll need the juice.
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As we noted, trying to oil a non-stick pan is a little like chasing your own tail.
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Amanda packs in a neat layer of feta and ricotta, garnishing it with fresh mint, followed by a drizzle of olive oil and a dusting of sea salt.
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Two more layers go into the mini loaf pan.
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Mrslarkin recommends buckwheat honey for the blood oranges, but if you prefer something a little less aggressive, wildflower honey would be nice too. We only used 2 T of the buckwheat honey because our blood oranges were small.
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After a brief sojourn into the fridge, we attempt to unmold the cheese. Rather, Amanda attempts, while Merrill spectates.
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It took a few firm raps, but it soon plopped out -- whole and beautiful.
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