In my last blog post I roasted grapes for the very first time and now I’m doing it with winter citrus. As I stated before, when roasting vegetables and fruit a nice caramelization starts to occur and then all the flavors deeply intensify, it’s a wonderful thing!
Right now I can find beautiful citrus everywhere so on my recent shopping trip I picked up some Navel, Cara Cara, Minneolas and beautiful Blood Oranges. When roasting citrus it’s best if you can keep them all the same thickness when slicing, so I recommend using a mandoline.
Toss your slices in a little bit of olive oil then place them single layer on a baking sheet that’s lined with parchment.
The citrus goes into a hot oven around 425, turning them over once. You might have to remove some slices before others as they can over-caramelize and start to burn, if it happens just discard them like I did.
They taste best when the slices are still pliable and not stiff, and if they’re cut thinly they’re completely eatable and delicious!
My shrimp was also roasted and I made a dressing of olive oil and some of the juice of all four oranges.
I suggest roasting some extra citrus, the slices store well in the fridge and you can use them on both sweet and savory dishes, it’s my new favorite thing and the colors will perk you up!
This was the perfect meal to brighten a dreary winter day.
- a few different variety of oranges that vary in inner color, at least 2 each
- 1 lb. of shrimp, peeled, de-veined and tail removed
- 1 bag of fresh baby spinach
- 2 minced garlic cloves
- parsley and thyme
- DRESSING
- ¾ cup of citrus juice
- ¾ cup olive oil, whisked together
- salt and pepper to taste
- TO ROAST THE CITRUS
- Heat oven to 425
- Slice each orange nice and thin with a mandoline, toss with olive oil and place on a baking sheet, single layer lined with parchment, sprinkle slices with a tiny bit of salt.
- Roast until still pliable turning once, be careful not to burn them as they start to caramelize, 10 or so minutes. Set aside to cool.
- ROAST SHRIMP
- Line a baking sheet with foil and keep oven at 425
- Make sure your shrimp is dry and moisture free by dabbing well with paper towels.
- Toss cleaned and dry shrimp into a bowl with enough olive oil to coat, add the minced garlic and a generous amount of fresh chopped herbs.
- Place onto foil lined baking sheet and roast until shrimp turns pink and tender, maybe 10-12 minutes, times vary according to size of shrimp.
- On a platter layer the spinach, citrus slices and warm shrimp, then drizzle all over with the citrus dressing.
I’m Marie, a wife, mother, mother-in-law, and gramma of two beautiful girls. My passion is food, clear and simple but especially Italian food, hence the name of my blog, Proud Italian Cook. I want you to feel right at home here so grab a cup of coffee, I’ll get the pastries, take a look around and enjoy your visit! {
gorgeous. stunning. i’m hungry now!
Hi Marie,
this is a wonderful creation! I was thinking of citrus for the past few weeks, after tasting some incredible “orangette”, (chocolate dipped in orange peel). I love this salad and will be making it as early as next week.
This is so beautiful, a blast of color in the middle of winter. Brilliant, Marie, and what bright flavors too. I think this could make people forget it was snowing outside. Well, not here in California, where right now we have a sunny, cloudless sky and a temperature of 73 degrees F. I kid you not… I hope your new year is off to a terrific start!
Those blood oranges remind me of Italy, Marie! My husband’s aunt had a grove of them growing in her yard. We ate so many! This looks like a fabulous dish. I love shrimp and I*m sure it goes so well with roasted citrus. It looks like sunshine on a plate!
This dish looks wonderful. I do have a question, though…do you eat the whole roasted citrus slice or just the “flesh” part? I guess I really wonder how the rind tastes roasted? Is it not bitter or does that mellow during the roasting process? Thanks!
I’m wondering exactly the same thing about the rind! I’m also curious about how thin you mean by thinly sliced oranges. I do have a mandolin, but sure how thin to go.
Looks beautiful – I’m going to make this for company coming to dinner tonight! Have been trying to use up some oranges 🙂
As thin as you can go without shredding it on your mandoline, Betsie. I have to admit at first we pulled the rind off then we tasted it and ended up eating the whole thing. The rind mellows in roasting, it was good!
Thank you for your quick response!
Traci, we ate the whole thing. We started off just eating the flesh but then tasted the rind which turned very mellow in the roasting process, just slice them thin, they were really good!
Oh Marie! This looks absolutely irresistible. Lucky we are spending time in the Sunshine state and all of those beautiful fruit are available. Again — this is a hit your forehead moment- why didn’t I think of it before. I’ve roasted lemons before – why not the citrus fruit. I am so anxious to make this! Thank you for the ideas and the inspiration.
Marie – Another strikingly beautiful dish! I’ve roasted citrus with fennel and loved that, and I know I’d love this combo. Funny, I was just looking for something to serve tomorrow night that’s light but filling and good. I think I just found it.
I’ve never roasted citrus. What a great idea. A must try, especially since we’re in Florida.
Sam