From Seville Orange to the Guardian Weekend
Posted by Solange Berchemin on Paper Palate
Sometimes you get a moment of serendipity when the universe makes sense. On Monday, I was brought an offering of Seville oranges, which is quite some gift as it is more or less impossible to find these particularly bitter citruses any longer. At the market stall where I annually purchase my oranges, I was told in no uncertain terms, “The old ladies who used to make their own marmalade are all dead, so there is no need for the oranges no more.” I protested and put forward the right of the new generations only to be told, “the new generations, aahh too lazy.”
Two days later, I was busy making the best marmalade ever with the Seville oranges, and two days after that, I was amazed to discover in the Guardian newspaper that there is a World Marmalade Festival. The Food pages in the Guardian are in the colour supplement and always produce great photos; the recipes are ”in-season” and different. I lparticularly ike Dan Lepard’s “How to Bake” column. The end of my story? On Sunday, I baked Dan’s Marmalade Buttons. Serendipity.
Marmalade Buttons
This recipe makes a lightly fruited biscuit, like a Pitcaithly bannock, but with a good dollop of marmalade mixed in at the start. Don’t let them brown too much, as the marmalade’s bitter flavour is more apparent the darker they get.
100g unsalted butter
50g caster sugar
50g good marmalade, like Tiptree
100g mixed peel
100g plain flour
100g ground rice or semolina
Demerara sugar
Beat the butter and sugar until smooth, then add the marmalade and mixed peel and beat until combined. Stir in the flour and ground rice. Knead in the bowl to a smooth dough, then roll into a cylinder about 25cm long. Wrap in cling film and chill till firm.
Heat the oven to 170C (150C fan-assisted). Line a baking sheet with non-stick baking parchment. Unwrap the dough and rub with a little water to moisten. Tip some demerara on a plate and roll the dough in it to form a crust. Slice 3/4 cm disks, lay them a few cm apart on the tray, and bake for 15 - 20 minutes until pale golden brown.
