I bought a few blood oranges over the weekend. I’ve been thinking of trying them for over a year, but finally decided to just take the plunge. Virtual Frolic’s post on blood orange sorbet helped that cause.

What held me up for the past year was the idea of the red flesh. It’s unfamiliar. I don’t remember deciding between blood oranges and navels when my grandmother and I used to grocery shop. Certainly not. Those decisions were left for types of grapes and apples. And somehow, a purple cauliflower was less daunting than the bloody flesh of this orange. Perhaps I am a bit of a creature of habit at heart . . .

So what to do with my blood oranges? I toyed with the idea of just eating them. I considered peeling them and separating into slices for a salad. Then it dawned on me: a blood orange vinaigrette.

I did a little internet exploring and found a recipe that sounded easy, but yum. Not long after, I set to work. I have to say, juicing a blood orange is a gruesome task. (And why do I juice by hand when I have a great juicer? Because I was only doing one orange – it’s a waste of clean-up time to use the big one for this!)

Anyway, I made the dressing, making a tiny alteration of lowering the amount of sugar and the amount of oil. It’s definitely not the prettiest dressing ever, but it’s different.

Unfortunately, when it came time to try this version of a blood orange dressing, it was too mild and dare I say bland. It’s definitely missing something. And I think the oil vinegar ratio is off, even with my lowered oil content. So the verdict? You don’t get the recipe yet. I am still working on developing it. Perhaps some minced shallots, blood orange zest, and a dash of lime juice will do the trick.
Recipe to come. When it meets my expectations.

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