It really is a word, new to me from Hanna, that means to make something more interesting or attractive by changing it slightly or adding something to it. A verb, it’s spelled several different ways; zhuzh, zhoozh, zhoosh and of course past tense, zhoosed — Google it if you don’t believe me. Today we’re using citrus to zhoozh up some olives, some shrimp and some Brussels sprouts. Add a non-zhoozhed composed salad of citrus so beautiful it needs no zhoozhing at all. Finally, a simple orange zhoozhed up by roasting. Enjoy!
Elevate a hospitable bowl of olives by gently warming with good olive oil and a ‘twist’ of orange peel. Olives with pits are best — provide a little pit bowl when serving.
Ina Garten’s warm marinated olives
Ingredients:
• 2 cups large green olives with pits, such as Cerignola
• 2 cups large black olives with pits, such as Kalamata or a container of mixed olives.
• Zest of 1 orange, peeled in large strips
• 4 large garlic cloves, smashed
• 2 teaspoons whole fennel seeds
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes ( use less to concentrate the olive’s flavor)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2/3 cup good olive oil
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
Directions: Drain the green and black olives from the brine or oil that they’re packed in and place them in a medium bowl. Add the orange zest, garlic, fennel seeds, thyme leaves, red pepper flakes, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Pour the olive oil over the mixture, add the thyme sprigs and toss to combine.
Transfer the mixture, including the olive oil, to a medium (10-inch) sauté pan. Heat over medium heat until the oil begins to sizzle. Lower the heat and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the olives and garlic are heated through and fragrant. Serve warm right from the pan or transfer to a serving dish. Offer a small dish for the pits. You can store leftover olives in the refrigerator and gently re-warm to serve another day. “Cook Like a Pro” by Ina Garten.
Martha Stewart’s Brussels sprouts
Brussels sprouts — a plague upon my palate, but my dear man friend loves them. This recipe has it all. Bacon, Brussels sprouts and oranges! A more pleasing combination I could not imagine — bless your heart Martha Stewart!
Ingredients:
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil plus more for brushing
• 2 small oranges, cut in half then into ½-inch slices
• Kosher salt
• 3-4 strips thick-cut bacon cut into ¼-inch pieces (1 cup)
• 1 ½ pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
Directions: Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Brush a rimmed baking sheet generously with oil. Add orange slices in a single layer, turning to coat. Season with salt and drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil. Roast 15 minutes. Add bacon and roast until crisp, about 12 minutes.
Toss Brussels sprouts with the remaining 4 tablespoons oil; season with salt. Add to baking sheet; toss to combine. Roast, tossing once, until sprouts are tender and browning at edges and oranges are deeply caramelized, 25-30 minutes more.
Shrimp with orange beurre blanc
This simple shrimp recipe is zhooshed up with a bit of orange and a fancy name. Serve with rice and the Moroccan-style citrus salad that follows.
Ingredients:
• Large shrimp — 6 per person, peeled and deveined, but not cooked
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 2 oranges
• ½ cup white wine
• 2 teaspoons minced shallots
• ½ pound (2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter
Directions: Peel and de-vein shrimp if necessary. Make orange syrup — zest half of one orange (about 2 teaspoons) and juice the two oranges (about ¾ cup). Put the juice, zest, wine and shallots in a sauce pan on medium high heat. Cook until it is syrupy and almost gone.
On low heat, whisk in the butter stirring continuously and vigorously, 1 tablespoon at a time. Butter is the only emulsifier for this sauce, and if you add it slowly, continuously stirring the sauce will achieve a silky-smooth texture. Do not let the sauce boil. Salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm while you continue with the shrimp.
Heat a skillet on medium-high. Pat the shrimp dry and coat with olive oil. When the pan is hot, add the shrimp and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook the shrimp about 45 seconds on each side. Add more olive oil, if necessary, to keep the shrimp from sticking to the pan. Do not overcook!
Drizzle the beurre blanc sauce over the shrimp or serve in a separate small container for dipping.
Citrus salad
A refreshing salad that makes the most of the bountiful citrus available now and features the flavor profiles of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cooking — cumin paprika, cinnamon and mint. Dream of Moroccan spice markets, souks, casbahs and camel rides in the dessert while we’re burrowed down in winter. Recipe by Amanda Frederickson.
Ingredients:
• 3-4 citrus fruits, such as blood oranges, navel oranges, and cara cara oranges
• 3 ounces feta cheese
• 3 tablespoons pistachios, chopped
• Mint chopped
• Olive oil
• Sea salt
Directions: Remove the citrus peels and cut fruit into wheels. Sprinkle with feta and pistachios and garnish with mint, a drizzle of olive oil and a large pinch of sea salt.
Roasted oranges
So simple — the perfect example of a zhoozed up ingredient. The aroma alone is reason to try this. Consider serving it with ice cream. Recipe by Jostlori.
Ingredients:
• 1 medium navel orange (any seedless orange will do)
• Vanilla
• Cinnamon
• Honey
Directions: Line a small baking sheet with foil, then spray with a bit of oil. Peel orange by removing the skin and white membrane, then cut into ¼-inch thick slices. Lay flat on the foil-lined tray. Drizzle or brush with a good vanilla extract, then sprinkle generously with cinnamon. Finally drizzle honey over each slice.
Place orange slices in oven or toaster oven set to broil. Broil until they are nice and brown on top. 15 minutes in my toaster oven, but probably less time in a regular oven.
Hope this has given you some simple but tasty things to try, a new word to play with, and some ideas about how to do some zhoozhing up of your own.
Thank you, January, for beautiful, bountiful oranges, grapefruits, kumquats, lemons, all things citrus and delicious!
