Riepilogo della frutta fresca del mese: agrumi (eccetto limoni e arance)

Fresh Produce of the Month: the roundup

February was a month of delicious recipes all featuring citrus fruit other than lemons and oranges. Thanks to all the people who participated and apologies for the delay. For both Marta and me, March started on the mad side in terms of work. We have finally reached a lull and cast a look towards the past (the roundup) and one towards the future (the announcement of the next edition). Without further ado, I will give you a taste of each of the delicious citrusy recipes I have received.

Considering that both Marta, creator of this event, and I are from Italy, I think it is nice that the first contribution is an Italian Vegan Grilled Grapefruit-Zucchini Salad kindly presented by Asha, of Aroma!

"Slightly bitter and tangy Grapefruit and soft pulpy Zucchini slices with herbs and spices taste fabulous together," says Asha. Hence, this recipe has earned the title of "a keeper."

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When I think of citrus fruit, I think about vibrant colors and flavors, both of which can be found in the Smoky Pomegranate Margarita that Bee and Jai of Jugalbandi are bringing to the party.

Pomegranate juice imparts the deep red color to the drink, while alderwood smoked sea salt is responsible for the smoky part of the name.

"Alderwood smoked sea salt is pure Pacific sea salt slowly smoked over a red alderwood fire. The process imparts a full-bodied smoky flavour to the salt."

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Another colorful dish is offered by Christine of Kits Chow. Pink grapefruit, yellow corn and green cilantro make her Chicken with pink grapefruit salad quite festive.

"This is a light, refreshing salad. The best time to eat this salad in the summer when fresh corn is in season, but it is still good with canned corn... The interesting thing is that there is no oil in the dressing. Only vinegar."

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Astrofiammante of Mangiare è un pò come viaggiare (Eating is a bit like traveling) has prepared Polpette in foglia di cedro, meat balls wrapped them in citron leaves and baked. The leaves imparts a delicate citrusy flavor to the meat.

She also sliced the citron and seasoned it with oil, raspberry vinegar, salt, pepper and fresh mint leaves. I wish I could find citron in the stores around here.

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We remain in Italy where Lenny of Una finestra di fronte (A window on the opposite side) offers us Mini rotoli alla marmellata di bergamotto (mini rolls with bergamot marmalade).

Fascinated by miniatures, Lenny has three small-size versions of a traditional roll, filled them with bergamot marmalade and decorated with candied bergamot peel.

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In the US, we visit Susan, The Well-Seasoned Cook. She greets us with her bright-colored Key Lime Coconut Cream Tapioca Pudding.

Susan tells us that "key limes are harvested when very green. The more yellow they become, the more ripe they are."

On the page referenced in the post, I read that key limes are smaller than regular (Persian) limes and that "the tree itself (Citrus aurantifolia Swingle) is small and bushy, rarely taller than 12 feet. It is armed with slender, extremely thorny branches..."

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And this is something Lori Lynn of Taste with the Eyes can attest to: she's had "an endless supply of limes" from the Mexican lime (a.k.a. key lime) tree she planted last October, but the tree has very sharp thorns.

With some of the bountiful harvest, she has prepared an elegant Mexican Lime Tart. 

The same page mentioned above says: "Some varieties are thornless, but these have a much lower fruit yield than than the thorned trees." So, there is a trade-off between ease of picking and quantity picked.

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Marta, An Italian in the US, the creator of this event, adds another drink to the collection with her Limata in stile vietnamita/Limeade Vietnamese style. I should actually say "his" limeade, as Marta reports Matt's version of the recipe.

"This is a very easy drink to make, and it doesn't differ much from a regular limeade, except for the fact that it doesn't contain much sugar, and instead, it has some salt in it. It's very refreshing and a good thirst-quencher."

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Your host for this month (that would be me) reminisced about her first encounter with limetta (lime), described her experience with sweet lime and, finally, offered "a variation on the theme of cavolfiore arrosto (roasted cauliflower)." 

And this brings to a close the February journey along the aisles of the grocery store. Marta, over at An Italian in the US, is taking back the helm in March and the theme is one of my favorite vegetables: finocchio (fennel). You will find the announcement with rules and deadline here.

My heartfelt thanks to all the participants for their contributions. It has been, as always, a pleasure. And thanks to my friend Marta for letting me have fun with her event. Arrivederci.

Comments

[Marta]

Thank you Simona for this great roundup!! Lots of interesting and good-looking citrus-centered creations :) Looking forward to reproducing a few of them.

[Paz]

Wonderful lineup! Always learning something new from everyone.

Paz

[mia]

Beautiful and very inspiring!I seriously did overlook the wonders of citrus,now I will definitely give it more thought,starting by giving those wondeful recipes a try! :) Grazie!

[Simona Carini]

You are welcome, Marta: it was a pleasure, as always.

You are so right, Paz.

Thanks, Mia, for the kind words. I am glad you find the collection inspiring.

[Lori Lynn]

What a refreshing round-up Simona!
I see that the thornless Mexican lime tree has lower yield, so I'm keeping the thorns and buying some sturdy gloves!
LL

[Ivy]

Pity I could not participate. All the recipes sound delicious.

[Simona Carini]

Thanks, Lori Lynn. I'd do the same.

Thanks, Ivy. Maybe you'll make next month's edition, if you like fennel.

[Susan]

Thank you, Simona, for a refreshing stroll through some recipes deliciously different from the lemon (love it as I do). Bergamot and citron are especially inviting. I've got a jar of bergamot marmalade in my fridge, waiting to be twisted open - wasn't easy to come by - from Italy, of course.

[Simona Carini]

You are welcome, Susan. I have actually never tasted bergamot marmalade and didn't even know it existed until I read about it in Lenny's blog.