Citrus is winter's gift to the hungry masses. After I made a delicious orange salad, I had a mountain of beautiful peels. They were so fragrant and flavorful, it felt wrong to throw them away. Instead, the peels were given a chocolate bath and now are elegant little chocolate covered orange peels. They are deliciousness will go into my own not-so-little moving landfill (called my belly) instead of going into the trash.
So here's a way to make bitter things sweet this mushy holiday season and to put trash where it belongs: In our bodies.
Here's what I did:
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
200 grams chocolate, I prefer dark chocolate with a cocoa content of over 70%
A miniature mountain of orange peel
1. Preheat oven to 250
2. Boil sugar and water together for five minutes.
3. Add Orange Peel with most of the pith removed.
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4. Boil for 5 to 10 minutes -- until peels look slightly translucent
5. Remove peels and reserve syrup.*
6. Place peels on an oven safe wire or a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and place in oven for 30 minutes or until oranges are dry to the touch.
7. Melt chocolate in double boiler.
8. Dump peels in chocolate, coat and remove with tongs.
9. Dry on parchment lined pan or wire rack.
10. Give as gifts, serve with ice cream or dessert or just eat them. If you like chocolate orange, they taste pretty good.
*Add a half a cup of lemon juice, 5 pods cardamon, 2 star anise and 15 crushed pepper corns. Continue to simmer til syrup thickens. Store in a bottle or jar in the fridge. Fantastic as a sauce for sweet or savory things.
