Zesty Orange Paste 🍊

Attention cheese lovers - my orange paste is for you! 🥳

With a few simple ingredients, and an hour or so bubbling away on the stove top, you’ll come up with a zesty acidic paste which adds a burst of flavour which is perfect for completing the ultimate charcuterie board.

Don’t be mistaken, this is not marmalade but it would quite possibly be closely related… maybe a cousin or great aunt?!🧓

Is your mouth watering? Yes? I’d suggest you get started…

Ingredients:

-250 grams of whole oranges (I only had to use 1, but sizes vary from country to country)

-1 cup (250 ml) of freshly squeezed orange juice (around 4 large oranges)

-2 cups (500 ml) of water

-1 ½ cups (300 g) of sugar

-1/4 cup of boiling water

Equiptment:

-Kitchen knives

-Juicer

-Measuring cups

-Large saucepan

-Wooden spoon

-Bamix, or blender

-Jars/silicon molds

-Grab your 250 grams of oranges and scrub clean under hot water🧴🧽✨

-Cut into slices, without discarding the ends 🔪🍊

-With the remaining oranges, cut them in half and either juice with a juicer or your hands (works just as good) until you have collected a cup of freshly squeezed orange juice 🍹

-Once you have prepped the oranges (cut and juiced), place your cut orange🍊, 1 cup of orange juice🍹, and the water into your saucepan.

-Bring to a boil on medium heat and simmer for around an hour or until the skins are soft, stirring occasionally🥣

-After 30 minutes⌛, your mixture should have reduced by half

-Once your mixture has boiled for about an hour, add 1/4 cup of boiling water and the sugar, stir until dissolved.

-Remove from the heat and allow to cool a little (this makes it safer for the next step.)

-Now, this is where things can get fully hectic!! 🤯 Our dreaded friend the Bamix is back…⚡and because of this, we have to be ultra-carful, cos this thing is hazardous, well…. sorta.

-Add your boiled down orange mixture to a heat proof container and grab your stick blender/Bamix.

-Place you blender into your mixture without turning on the power switch, this will minimize any risk of you turning it on and you injuring yourself. Flick the switch and blend until most ways smooth, a few tiny lumps of skin is fine.

-When blending, do NOT pull the blender out of the warm orange mixture, it will fling hot paste everywhere and most likely will burn you. 💥(It’s a perfect waste of good hard-earned paste and you would have a gigantic cleaning job on your hands.)

-Once blended, add your mixture back, (I know, more heating…. Groan🙄) into your pan and place onto the heat, boil, stirring constantly for around half an hour.

-Now, when stirring the mixture, it can get quite agitated and up in arms about being heated again😨(oranges these days), It will spit a little, so you can reduce the heat or wear heat protection to avoid burns. Please be careful with this step.

-Now that your paste has thickened and is kind of lumpy (which is how its mean to be – trust me!💯) divide it out between your containers, I am putting some in a small jar and the rest into silicon molds. If you choose to place your paste into jars, fill the jar up with hot water before-hand so it doesnt crack when the hot paste hits it.

-Place your paste into the fridge to set for 6-10 hours or over night. ⌛

And all there’s left to do now is to scoop and enjoy!!! Serve your paste with herbed crackers🍘, Brie cheese, a sharp cheddar🧀, fresh fruit 🍇🍊🍒, or homemade lavish crackers.

Whatever it's paired with this flavorful paste adds a zing to every mouthful and is the perfect condiment for your charcuterie board! 🥳