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Not Just Marmalade

Seville Orange Tart

A gentleman told me that he had cut out my recipe for

pumpkin risotto from the Financial Times and was going

to ‘do it soon’. People often tell me that they cut out my

recipes for later use. It is very flattering, and it is

comforting to think that in countless homes there are

these scrapbooks crammed with greying (can pink ’uns

grey?) or at least fading pieces of my culinary wisdom

stored up, but with their instructions sadly not followed.

I am not sure why, unless it is sheer inertia, some of

these recipes languish uncooked. I always plan them to be

seasonal, to the letter if possible. I didn’t have the heart to

explain that the pumpkin risotto would have to wait for

the autumn. Similarly, while I try to make these recipes

as simple as possible, inevitably some can seem a bit

complicated: I avoid deploying too many ingredients, but

I’ll also admit I have never advocated the quick and easy

for its own sake.

This lengthy preamble serves as a warning. If you are

to follow the recipe below – and it is not kindergarten

simple – you have to act NOW. Seville oranges have a very

short season. There are cooks who remember that it is time

to make marmalade just after the season has finished.

Those of you with a capacious freezer may, I suppose, buy

yourselves some time, but your frozen Seville oranges will

nag your conscience until the moment is seized.

We in Britain are the only ones who really ‘get’ Seville

oranges. I love marmalade but, for various reasons

(indolence for one), never make it. I use Seville oranges

elsewhere. I use the juice and zest with olive oil and

marjoram as a dressing for fish. I ask my pastry cook to

make a Seville orange pudding, served with custard, as a

fortification and comfort in this filthy weather. And now

I have made this tart. It is sweet and sharp and if you can

summon up the resolve to make it very soon, you will not

be disappointed. And I am going to put some more Seville

oranges in the freezer.

41

January