moroccan oranges
For seventeenth-century writer and gardener John Evelyn, the orange ‘sharpens the appetite [and] exceedingly refreshes’. I agree with him and I have a very soft spot for these honeyed oranges. The orange originally came from China. It was described in an Indian medical treatise, Charaka Samhita, around AD 100, and its modern Indian name of naranga is thought to have been derived from the Sanskrit narunga, meaning ‘fruit like elephants’. Initially, it was the bitter Seville orange that travelled to southern Europe, but the sweet orange was known by the late fifteenth century. The clementine (whose arrival gives us such joy in the autumn and which makes a delightful decoration, perched in a line along the mantelpiece for Christmas) is a cross between the mandarin and the bitter Seville,
bred by the priest Père Clément around 1900 in Algeria.
When the British Council took me to Morocco to play with a classical Moroccan group one March, there were bowlfuls of orange flowers for sale in the markets, smelling divine. The fresh oranges were often served peeled and cut into slices, sprinkled with orange flower water and cinnamon. I often serve this refreshing fruit salad
at the end of a meal, sometimes with a little liquid honey, too.
These honeyed Moroccan oranges keep well in the fridge and are scrumptious served with thick cream.
SERVES 8
500g oranges
250g honey
Cut the oranges into thin slices, about 5mm thick. Put the slices in a pan in layers, adding honey to each layer. Cover with water. Place a good-fitting lid on the pan and simmer gently until the oranges are
soft and the pith has become translucent, about 2 hours.
Remove the oranges with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl. Reduce the syrup until it starts to thicken and there is just the right amount of syrup to cover the oranges. (If you overstep the mark you can always add a couple of tablespoons of water.)
