Olive oil cornmeal cake with blood orange and honey
A bit more olive oil can also be drizzled over the top - definitely won't hurt!
We recently returned from our honeymoon in Peru, where we picked up some palta (avocado) honey at the peak of summer to the other side of the equator where it is currently a different kind of seasonal peak - the height of the winter doldrums. Fortunately, grey winter days are not without their culinary delights, one of them being amazing citrus. Given our recent honey purchase, the cold weather begging me to "get my baking on", and beautiful blood oranges that fold so lovely into an olive oil cake, this combination was calling my name. The palta honey has very unique dark, earthy quality to it, but any honey that you enjoy will do for drizzling.
The recipe is adapted from a Smitten Kitchen recipe in a few ways including to incorporate cornmeal and deconstruct the compote - blood orange slices are so gorgeous it's a shame to chop them up for this application and we wanted the honey to shine on it's own. Makes one 9x5-inch loaf pan or four, 5x2.5-inch loaf pans. I happen to have four of these small loaf pans and am always looking for excuses to use them because they are pretty darn cute and more surface area = more crispy bits = delicious.
Butter for greasing pan
5 blood oranges
1 cup (200 grams or 7 ounces) sugar
About 1/2 cup (118 ml) plain yogurt
3 large eggs
2/3 cup (156 ml) extra virgin olive oil
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons cup medium grind cornmeal
1-1/2 teaspoons (8 grams) baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Honey, for drizzling
Crème fraîche for serving (optional, but perfect - just do it)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9x5-inch loaf pan or four 5x2.5-inch loaf pans. Grate zest from 2 oranges and place in a bowl with sugar. Using your fingers, rub ingredients together until orange zest is evenly distributed in sugar.
Supreme an orange - aka "segment citrus like a boss" (I created that instructional post and just found out through this recipe that this technique is called "supreming"!). Break up segments with your fingers into about 1/4-inch sized chunks.
Halve 2 oranges and squeeze juice into a measuring cup; you’ll will have about 1/4 cup. Add buttermilk or yogurt to juice until you have 2/3 cup liquid altogether. Pour mixture into bowl with sugar and whisk well. Whisk in eggs and olive oil.
In another bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Gently stir dry ingredients into wet ones. Fold in pieces of orange segments. Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake cake for 50 to 55 minutes (9x5-inch loaf pan) or 25-30 minutes (5x2.5-inch loaf pans), or until it is golden and a knife inserted into center comes out clean. Cool in loaf pan(s). While cake is cooling, supreme 2 more oranges and keep refrigerated until served.
Slice cake and serve with crème fraîche, blood orange slices, and a drizzle of honey. You can also drizzle some more olive oil over the top if you're feeling wild. Keeps for 3-4 days.
Cornmeal-battered nopales with smoked paprika
I had a very, very productive nopal cactus in front of my house in Oakland. So productive, in fact, that harvesting and processing its fruit felt like a part time job in the summer/fall. Nopal is the common name for members of a group (the Opuntia genus) within the cactus family, with the plural being nopales. Usually however, I see nopales referring to the cactus pads specifically, with prickly being the fruit. If you see a big cactus with large flat "paddle" leaves with thorns and bright red fruit, it's an Opuntia cactus and is edible. Some are better tasting than others and there are also better times to harvest the cactus pads. See my past post on harvesting nopal cactus pads for more details. The best piece of advice is to be careful because the thorns on the fruit have a tendency to jump onto you!
Oh how I loved my very productive Opuntia cactus.
This recipe is really just guidance, as the specific quantities aren't incredibly important. If serving as an appetizer or in tacos, which are probably the best uses, make about 1 medium cactus pad per person.
Nopales (cactus pads) that are at optimal tenderness - just remember to remove the spines!
What I like about it is the dry heat method of pan-frying helps to limit the viscous quality that can happen with nopales (similar to okra). And, of course, cornmeal crunch is always appreciated. Feel free to play around with the cornmeal to flour ratio, herbs and spices, and dipping sauces. I have also thought about cutting the nopales into strips before battering and frying, which might help further reduce the viscous qualities and make for easier serving. Enjoy!
Young/tender nopales pads
1 part medium-grind cornmeal (about 1/2 cup for 4 medium cactus pads)
2 parts all-purpose flour (about 1 cup for 4 medium cactus pads)
Smoked paprika or chili powder (about 1 teaspoon for 4 medium cactus pads)
White or black pepper (about 1/4 teaspoon for 4 medium cactus pads)
Salt (about 1 /4 teaspoon for 4 medium cactus pads)
Eggs, beaten (1-2 eggs for 4 medium cactus pads)
Oil for frying (about 1/3 cup for 4 medium cactus pads)
Cactus pad with spines removed.
To prepare
Coating with all-purpose flour before the egg and cornmeal batter.
Remove thorns from cactus pads (see this post for information on removing spines). Set up a plate with paper towels to lay the nopales after you fry them.
Mix cornmeal, 1/2 cup flour, spices, and salt on a plate. Set other 1/2 cup all-purpose flour on a different plate.
Toss each cactus pad in pure flour mixture to lightly coat then dip in beaten egg and shake off excess. Dredge each egg-covered pad in the cornmeal mixture so that it covers all sides and set aside.
Add oil to frying pan - oil should be about 1/4-inch high - and heat on high.
When oil is hot, cook nopales about 2 minutes per side, or until browned, and set on paper towel. You may cook these in batches if needed, adding more oil as necessary.
Serve hot with a squeeze of lemon and a dipping sauce such as aioli, romesco, or an herb blend (optional). Cactus can be cut into strips prior to serving.
Frying to a golden-brown.