The citrus recipes you never knew you needed

This is part of a Cornersmith x Australian Farmers series showcasing Aussie grown foods. It’s a bit like a fork with three prongs. This is the recipe inspiration. The next prong is where you learn about how to buy seasonally and the third is meeting a farmer who grows oranges. We hope you enjoy the ride!

Savoury orange salad

Serves 3-4 as a side.

• 3 oranges, remove skin and pith and slice thinly into rounds
• ¼ red onion, very thinly sliced
• Glug of olive oil
• Splash of good quality vinegar
• 1-2 tablespoons chopped salty olives
• Parsley, dill or tarragon leaves to scatter
• Plenty salt and pepper to taste

Arrange the orange slices on a flat platter, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and plenty of pepper. Scatter with red onion slices or quick pickled onions on top and add a little splash of vinegar. Sprinkle with finely chopped olives and plenty of chopped herbs. Serve this salad with a whole roast fish for a very impressive meal. Or with rich cheeses and good bread, a cous cous dish or grilled lamb.

Classic citrus marmalade

• 1kg citrus
• 3L water
• 1kg sugar
• 1 tablespoon spices or herbs of your choice – cloves, fresh ginger cut into matchsticks, cinnamon sticks, star anise, finely chopped fresh herbs like rosemary or thyme

Juice citrus. Flatten each half onto the bench with the palm of your hand and thinly slice the rind into matchsticks.

Put the rind, citrus juice, 3 litres of water and spices (if using), into a good sized wide mouthed saucepan or jam pot. Simmer over low heat until citrus skin is soft and translucent. About 1 – 1.5 hours.

Turn off the heat and slowly stir in the sugar until dissolved. Then turn the heat up to medium and bring to the boil. Boil steadily, stirring every now and then until marmalade has set.

While the marmalade is cooking, sterilise your jars. To sterilise your jars: give your jars and lids a soapy hot wash and a good rinse or put them through the dishwasher. Put jars into a low oven (110 degrees) for 15 minutes. Boil the lids for 5 minutes in a small saucepan, then let air dry.

When marmalade is ready, carefully take jars out of the oven using sterilized tongs and place on the bench. Let cool for a minute or two. Carefully spoon marmalade into jars, wipe the rim with a clean paper towel and seal immediately.

Leave to cool. Check lid for the correct seal and then store in a cool dark place for up to 12 months. To extend the shelf life to 2 years, heat process jars for 10 minutes.

Whole orange and chocolate cake

Makes 1 x 22 cm round cake.

Flourless citrus cake is a classic. Always moist, never too sweet, and a whole lot more interesting than a sponge cake. This one is made more lush with chocolate and whole citrus. We use oranges here but feel free to use other citrus fruit instead.

• 2 oranges
• 200g dark chocolate
• 100 g butter
• 8 eggs
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 3 cups almond meal
• 1 tsp baking powder

Place oranges in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes or until the oranges are completely soft. Drain and allow to cool completely. Break the cooled oranges up a bit, pull out as many seeds as you can, then blend to a pale paste using a hand-held blender or food processor.

Place a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, ensuring the bowl isn’t touching the water, then add chocolate and butter and melt together, stirring to combine. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and grease a 22 cm (8 1⁄2 in) cake tin with butter. In a large bowl, beat 8 eggs with sugar until frothy. Fold in almond meal, powder, the blended oranges and the chocolate mixture. Stir gently to combine, then pour into the tin. Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before serving.

Orange bitters for gin and tonics or booze free cocktails

Makes 2 cups.

There’s one place where bitter flavours are still much appreciated, and that’s in beverages. Aperitifs and digestives are made with bitter ingredients considered to be good for digestion. You might have tonic water in your fridge for gin and tonics, or to mix with juice or cordial. This recipe is a cheat’s version of tonic water that also utilises the bitterness of orange scraps.

Use the peel and pith of 4 oranges. Put these scraps in a saucepan with 3⁄4 cups caster sugar, 5 allspice berries, 2 star anise, 1 roughly chopped lemongrass stem (white and green bits), 1 tbsp juniper berries, 1⁄2 tsp salt, 1⁄4 tsp black peppercorns and 2-3 cups water.

Bring this all to the boil over medium heat, then reduce the heat to low and gently simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave at room temperature to steep overnight. Strain into a clean and dry bottle or jar and store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Start with 2 tbsp bitters to 30 ml gin and top with sparkling water for a classic gin and tonic, then add more bitters to taste.

Feeling inspired and enlightened?! Check out our Ode to the Orange tips straight from the Cornersmith kitchen and meet Michael Arnold, an Australian farmer who grows citrus. You can also check out our tips and tricks for saving money and doing your bit to reduce food waste with the other foods in this series: Bread, carrots, lamb, greens and cheese.