Blood Orange Marmalade tarts

Blood Orange Marmalade (adapted from BBC Food and Good Eats) yield: about 4 cups plus additional syrup*

1 lb. Blood Oranges, washed, sliced about ⅛” thin, seeds removed (I used 4 oranges)
5 cups water
juice and zest of one lemon
4 cups granulated sugar

Stack the orange slices and quarter them. Place the quartered oranges in a heavy bottomed stockpot. Add the water, lemon juice and zest and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the sugar and stir with a rubber spatula to combine. When the mixture has cooled, cover and leave at room temperature overnight, or at least a good 8 hours. (This helps to soften the skin and intensify the flavor.) When ready to prepare the marmalade, bring the mixture to a boil then reduce the heat to maintain a steady simmer until it reaches 222 degrees on a candy thermometer. Be patient- this takes a while. If you are a jam maker and wish to place the finished preserves in sterilized jars, process accordingly. I use the marmalade rather quickly in various recipes, keeping it refrigerated in a sealed container for up to one week.

Pastry Dough for Blood Orange Tarts (yields enough for six 4½” tart pans with removable bottoms) Adapted from Time-Life ‘The Good Cook’

2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup cornmeal
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon ground cardamom
4 tablespoons brown sugar
zest of one small orange
12 tablespoons (6 oz.) cold, unsalted butter cut into pieces
1 egg whisked together with 3 tablespoons of fresh orange juice

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, combine flour, cornmeal, salt, baking powder, cardamom, brown sugar and orange zest. Pulse a few times to combine. Add butter pieces and pulse just until the mixture is crumbly. Empty contents into a large mixing bowl and add the egg/orange juice mixture with your fingertips, just to combine. Form the dough into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before rolling out. On a sheet of parchment lightly dusted with flour, roll out pastry to ⅛” thickness. Cut out six 6”circles, fitting one pastry circle into each lightly buttered tart pan. Cut lattice strips from the remaining dough. Chill tart pans and lattice while you prepare the filling.

Filling for Blood Orange Tart (adapted from Joyce Goldstein) 

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3 eggs
2 tablespoons cornstarch combined with 3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 cup of Blood Orange marmalade with syrup 
(the syrup from the marmalade serves as the sweetener)
½ cup good quality apricot or orange preserves (I use Sarabeth’s Blood Orange spreadable fruit)

In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and orange juice. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth, scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl, then add the eggs one at a time. Add the cornstarch/orange juice mixture then the marmalade and syrup. Blend on low speed, scraping sides and bottom of bowl. Remove bowl from mixer and fold in ½ cup of preserves by hand. Scrape this mixture into the top of a double boiler set over simmering water. Cook until the mixture thickens, scraping the bottom and sides constantly. Remove from over the heat and let cool to room temperature. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. When filling has cooled down, spoon into pastry lined tart shells, top with lattice crust and trim the dough evenly with the edges. Place tarts on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees, then reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake an additional 10 minutes until crust is golden and filling is set. Serve with additional slices of candied Blood Oranges and syrup, if you wish.

* additional syrup is delicious in cocktails, as a glaze for baked goods or over ice cream

---