Benefits Of The Orange Peel

Posted on August 13, 2021 by Cook Plate Fork

Orange zest is a way to bring orange flavor to a dish without the bitterness that whole orange peel can bring.

The zest is the outer part of the peel and can be shaved from the fruit with the use of a zester (very fine shavings) or cheese grater (shavings are a bite larger).

The use of zest not only adds the most aromatic part of the orange fruit to your dish, it does so unobtrusively.

But consuming the whole peel has benefits.

Health Benefits of the Orange Peel

Orange peels, including lemons, limes, grapefruit, clementines, or any of your other favorite citrus fruits can be used in their entirety.

Just 1 tablespoon of orange peel provides 14% of the Daily Value (DV) of vitamin C, which is nearly 3 times more than the inner fruit. The same serving also packs about 4 times more fiber.

Studies show that diets high in vitamin-C and fiber benefit heart and digestive health and may protect against certain types of cancer.

Orange peel also contains good amounts of vitamin A, folate, riboflavin, thiamine, vitamin B6, and calcium

Orange Almond Cake

Orange peel is rich in plant compounds called polyphenols, which may help prevent and manage many chronic conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, and Alzheimer’s disease (Frontiers In Nutrition).

One study showed the total antioxidant activity of a chemical called polyphenol was significantly higher in the peel than in the actual fruit (PNFS).

Orange Cranberry Muffins

Orange peels are a good source of the specific polyphenols called hesperidin and polymethoxyflavones (PMFs), both of which are being studied for their potential anticancer effects.

Hesperidin is found only in the pith of the peel. The chemical had shown in studies to maintain a healthy blood pressure.

Grilled Chicken and Orange Skewers

Nearly 90% of the essential oils in orange peels are composed of limonene, a naturally occurring chemical that has been studied for its anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties, including against skin cancer (PubMed).

They can be candied, incorporated into beverages, zested over your favorite dishes, or even used to start a summer campfire. If you plan on eating the peel, however, be sure to use organic fruit.

Orecchiette with Chorizo and Chickpeas

Posted on November 19, 2015 by Cook Plate Fork

Orechiette is a distinctive Puglian type of pasta shaped roughly like small ears, as orecchio in Italian means eat, and Orecchiette means little ears.

The pasta is roughly 3/4 of an inch across, slightly domed, and the centers are thinner than the rim of the pasta. The pastas texture is soft in the middle and more chewy along the rim or outside of the pasta.

The pasta makers “Barilla” says that Orecchiette is the signature pasta of Puglia, describing Puglia as a humble farming land situated along the southeastern coast of Italy.

Here is a video posted to You-Tube of Italian women in Italy making fresh Orechiette pasta.

Orecchiette with Chorizo and Chickpeas

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 small shallots, chopped

3/4 pound fresh Mexican chorizo casings removed

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

2 cups chicken broth

1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed

12 ounces Orecchiette

Garnishes:

Fresh chopped cilantro or parsley

Finely grated Parmesan and lemon zest

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots and saute, stirring often, until beginning to brown and smell fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add chorizo to pan and break up with a spoon, and cook meat until browned and cooked through, about 5-7 minutes.

Next add tomato paste and red pepper flakes to meat mixture and mix in. Next add the broth, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened a bit, about 15-20 minutes. Next add the can of chickpeas, and mix in, cooking 2 minutes more to heat the chickpeas through.

Meanwhile, cook pasta according to packaged instructions. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the pasta cooking liquid.

Next add the pasta and 1/2 cup pasta cooking liquid to meat sauce. Continue to cook until sauce thickens and coats pasta, about 3 minutes. Add the pasta liquid as needed. You might use the whole cup, and possibly less.

Serve pasta topped with cilantro or parsley (your choice), Parmesan, and lemon zest.

We have had this for left overs a few times, and each time we add cilantro, cheese, and lemon zest. The zest adds great flavor to this dish. Be sure to use it.

For the side salad using candy cane beets, find recipe here: Shredded Candy Cane and Green Apple Slaw with Pecans.

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Shrimp and Snap Pea Stir-Fry

Posted on June 9, 2014 by Cook Plate Fork

Prepare a meal in a snap with this super fresh stir-fry. Stir-frying is one of the fastest ways to prepare dinner. Small cuts of food or bite sized foods cook up in no time when tossed into a hot pan.

We even went a step further with this stir-fry, we topped it with lemon zest and shavings of fresh ginger root. Ginger is great for digestion, reduces pain and inflammation, and wards off some cancers.

If you are increasing your omega-3 in your diet, shrimp is a great choice with .29 grams per a 3 ounce serving.

Our featured recipe is – Shrimp and Snap Pea Stir-Fry – and here is what you will need.

2-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 cups sugar snap peas, trimmed

1 can of sliced water chestnuts, drain

12-16 ounces large shrimp, cooked

1/4 cup garlic and green onion teriyaki sauce (your favorite brand; we use Kikkoman)

2 cups cooked wild rice and red barely

1 cup organic chicken broth

Pour 1 cup of water and 1 cup of organic chicken broth into a medium sauce pan, add rice and bring to a boil on high heat.

Once boiling lower heat to low to simmer for 45 minutes. What we do so the rise will not be soggy after cooking it, is place a dry clean towel over mouth of pot and place the lid over the towel. As the water evaporates and rises to the lid water forms again only to fall back over the cooking rice.

With the towel in place, it will hold the vapor not allowing it to fall back over the rice. The rice is always 100% guaranteed to be fluffy.

When rice is done remove towel, fluff with a fork and set aside.

Meantime, wash and trim the Snap Peas and set aside. Next, open the can of water chestnuts, drain off liquid and set aside.

Next place a large frying pan or a wok if you have one over high heat, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. When heated add 1/8 cup of the stir fry sauce. Place peas and chestnuts into pan and stir-fry until snap peas turn a bright green in color. Place into a medium bowel and set aside.

Using the same pan, add the shrimp and remaining 1/8 cup of stir-fry sauce. Stir-fry until shrimp is more oblique in color than orange. Add back the vegetables to shrimp and stir-fry 1 minute more. Remove from heat.

Spoon some rice on to a dinner plate, spoon some shrimp stir-fry over rice and serve. As we stated before hand, we topped the stir-fry with lemon zest and shavings of fresh ginger root. Enjoy the wonderful flavors of this splendid stir-fry.

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Citrus Herb Roasted Vegetables

Posted on June 5, 2014 by Cook Plate Fork

This recipe focuses on the roasted vegetables as a side dish. We did use skinless chicken thighs (bone-in) as this is my families favorite part of the chicken. Though I do prefer, de-boned, skinless chicken breast.

You can roast these vegetables with about any meat you wish, including fish like Salmon or Halibut. The blend of seasonings that we used are common culinary herbs with the zest of citrus fruits, orange and lemon. This seasoning blend is well suited for many uses in the kitchen, like adding spice to a fruit salad, or add it to a grain, such as quinoa. For lean meats, you can use the citrus herb seasoning as a dry rub before grilling.

The seasoning consists of the following:

1 tbsp. dried thyme

1 tbsp. dried oregano

2 tbsp. dried basil

1 tsp. dried rosemary

1 tsp. dried sage

1 tsp. fennel seeds

Mix the ingredients together in a spice grinder and store the blend in an airtight container.

The fresh ingredients you add to the seasoning when ready to use are:

1 1/2 tsp. fresh orange zest

1 1/2 tsp. fresh lemon zest

Here are the vegetables you will need, but keep in mind, you can use just about any vegetable you like:

Here we are using 2 zucchini squash, 2 crookneck squash, 2 carrots, about 15 Brussels sprouts, and 1 small to medium eggplant. Note if you are going to bake some chicken or fish with the vegetables, you may not use the amount that is called for, due to spacing in the baking pan.

In a mixing cup add the zest of both citrus fruits, and 1 to 2 tablespoons of the herb seasoning mix. You may want to add about 1 teaspoon of sea salt. To the dry mix add 1/4 cup olive oil or avocado oil, 2 tablespoons of honey or 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, and 1/4 cup orange juice. We used the juice of a fresh Navel orange. Of course it juiced almost 1 cup. One fourth cup was added to the mix, and the cook got their dose of vitamin-C (he drank the rest). This is optional, add 1 minced fresh clove of garlic.

Mix the dry ingredients with the wet till well combined and pour into a 13 x 9 inch baking pan. Now if you don’t like meat, than maybe you will want to look away as we show you the next step.

Next, depending the meat you want to use, place meat into pan. Here we used skinless chicken thighs, placed bone side up. If using fish with skin on, place fish in with meat down. Bake in a preheated oven on 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

Remove pan from oven and turn thighs over and arrange chopped vegetables over and around meat. If you are going to just use the vegetables only, than pour wet seasoning mix into baking pan, add vegetables and roast for 30 minutes in the 400 degree oven.

Place baking pan back into oven and cook another 30 minutes. This will insure chicken meat is cooked to 165 degrees internal temperature and will roast the vegetables.

Remove roasted vegetables to a serving dish, then place meat on to a serving platter. Pour or spoon as much of the seasoned liquid as you like over the roasted vegetables.

Plate and serve.

What Others are Saying About Herbs and roasted chicken with Vegetables:

Baja Citrus Chicken Bowl

Posted on April 22, 2014 by Cook Plate Fork

Here’s a great recipe that will prepare in under 30 minutes. Though you will need to marinate your chicken first for 30 minutes to one hour depending on your intensity for citrus flavors. But once the meat is marinated, as I mention the rest takes under 30 minutes to prepare.

I found a great marinade recipe at She Knows Food & Recipes: Baja Citrus Marinade. The recipe calls for a Mexican beer, but I left that out. The following includes the beer if you wish to prepare the marinade with it.

Baja Citrus Marinade

6-8 ounces Mexican Beer
1/3 cup fresh Orange Juice
1 teaspoon grated Orange Zest
2 tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
2 tablespoons Soy Sauce
1/4 cup Avocado Oil
1/2 cup Minced Onion
2 tablespoons Minced Garlic
2 teaspoons Salt
1 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

Place all of the ingredients into a blender and process the mixture until combined. Pour the marinade over the meat of your choice, cover and place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours prior to cooking ( I marinated the meat for 1 hour).

You could also opt to replace the orange juice and zest with lime or lemon. I also replaced the canola oil (which is a seed oil and is the cause of inflammation in the body) with avocado oil.

Also this is one of my recipes I call –Salads as a Main Meal– as it contains meat.

The recipe I use is one I have -Smoked Turkey Black Bean Bell Pepper and Corn Salad-. I had some chicken breast I used in place of the turkey and I didn’t use the Mint dressing that goes with the smoked turkey salad, as I thought it would clash with the citrus marinaded flavored meat.

I just mix a little balsamic vinegar and avocado oil, with Himalaya salt (contains all trace minerals found in the salt mines) and black pepper.

The following is what you will need to prepare -Baja Citrus Chicken Bowl-. By the way I say Bowl, because I prepared this recipe for the family dinner, but as I went off to work, I put mine in a bowl.

Baja Citrus Chicken Bowl

2 pounds (about 3) chicken breast, chopped 1-inch squares

1 can (15.5 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained

1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels

1 cup cherry orange tomatoes, halved

1 cup diced bell peppers (any colors)

1/2 cup finely chopped red onion

3 cups arugula greens

Marinate chopped chicken for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Then cook in heated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until chicken is 165 degrees internal meat temperature.

In the bottom of a large salad bowl add add desired amounts of olive or avocado oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. Next add chicken, beans, corn, tomatoes, bell peppers, onion, and mix well with wet ingredients.

Place one to two hand fulls of arugula greens on a large salad plate and top with the meat mixture. Sever and enjoy!!

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Orange, Fennel and Mint Salad

Posted on April 15, 2014 by Cook Plate Fork

Were you aware that black pepper aids with digestion? The black pepper is great at stimulating the taste buds, it helps the pancreas produce digestive enzymes. Your taste buds send signals to your stomach suggesting an increase in the production of hydrochloric acid, the acid which helps your digestive system digest food.

Black pepper can also eliminate the formation of intestinal gas and reduce or eliminate stomach aches. Black pepper also smooths the mucus lining of the digestive system. Black pepper among other nutrients has vitamin E, which adds in healing skin that maybe damaged or cut on.

Our featured recipe includes pepper. We hope with the fore mentioned health information about black pepper, that you will include it as well as with any recipe you find and prepare here at -Splendid Recipes and More- or any other blog or web-site.

Here is what you will need:

2 large navel oranges, peeled, pith removed and cut into crosswise slices

1 medium fennel bulb, trimmed and sliced very thin

3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

Pinch salt and pepper, to taste

2 tbsp. fresh mint, chopped

In a large mixing bowl, toss prepared oranges and fennel. Arrange the mixed slices onto a salad platter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to your taste. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with the mint. Serve immediately.

The olive oil is optional. Also if you desire, you could squeeze lime juice from a fresh lime over the salad. Believe it or not, even though lime juice is acidic, once consumed and digested, it actually balances the pH of the body and reducing the acid through out.

If you desire, you can add ½ red onion thinly sliced and 12 imported black or green olives.

To add more color to the salad you could use blood-oranges in place of navel.

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Strawberry Yogurt Cake

Posted on March 11, 2014 by Cook Plate Fork

We found an article on the Health News Library website about yogurt and its 7 benefits for better health, which are:

Better Immunity
Calcium Absorption
Fewer Yeast Infections
Digestive Regularity
Food Allergies
Asthma Prevention
Reducing Inflammation

To read the article in its entirety, link here to the Health News Library “7 Health Benefits of Yogurt”.

For the featured recipe, here is what you will need:

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, divided
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
Zest of 1 lemon
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
3 Tb. lemon juice, divided
8 oz. plain, Greek yogurt
12 oz. fresh strawberries, diced
1 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees ; grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan (10-15 cup pan).

Sift together the 2 ¼ cups of flour, baking soda and salt.
Mix in the lemon zest and set aside.
With an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in 1 tbsp. lemon juice.
Alternate beating in the yogurt and flour mixture, mixing just until incorporated.

Toss the strawberries with the remaining ¼ cup of flour. Gently mix them into the batter. Pour the batter into the Bundt pan. Bake for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Allow to cool 20 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely. Place cake onto a large dessert platter once cooled. Whisk together the remaining 2 tbsp. of lemon juice and the powdered sugar. Drizzle over the top of the cake. Plate and serve.

What Others are Saying About Yogurt and Cake:

Orange Almond Cake

Posted on January 19, 2014 by Cook Plate Fork

Orange zest is a way to bring orange flavor to a dish without the bitterness that whole orange peel can bring.

The zest is the outer part of the peel and can be shaved from the fruit with the use of a zester (very fine shavings) or cheese grater (shavings are a bite larger).

The use of zest not only adds the most aromatic part of the orange fruit to your dish, it does so unobtrusively.

Different uses for orange citric peel include among others,

Candied Orange Peels

Citrus zest is added to flavor confectionery icing.

Orange zest is used in cheesecakes.

Here is what you will need to prepare the Orange Almond Cake:

For the cake
1 ½ cups dry roast almond pieces, processed to flour
4 large eggs, at room temperature, separated
½ cup honey
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt

Candied Oranges and Syrup
1 ½ cup Sugar
¾ cup water
2 or 3 medium oranges, thinly sliced

Start with candying the oranges first. Cut the ends off both sides of the orange and cut into thin slices.

Heat the sugar and water in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved.

Add oranges and cook over low heat for 15 minutes until candied. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare a 8 inch cake pan or spring-form pan spreading butter on sides of pan and lining the bottom with parchment paper.

From a room temperature stick of butter, cut off one tablespoon. Using a spatula spread the butter over the sides of the spring-form pan (coconut oil can be used).

Next roast the almonds.

To toast whole almonds, spread on a light colored baking sheet and bake at 350°F, mix nuts around once, roast 7 to 9 minutes or until they start to smell fragrant.

When you smell the fragrance of the almonds and continue to roast them, they will have a burnt flavor.

The 7 to 9 minutes depends on the calibration of your oven. Hint: gas ovens will roast faster than an electric oven.

Roasting the nuts makes a finer flour. As the image shows here not roasting the almonds makes a gummier flour and will not work will to prepare the cake.

After you have processed the nuts prepare to assemble the ingredients.

Beat the 4 egg yolks, ½ cup honey, vanilla, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until well combined. Add the ground almond flour and beat on low until combined.

Beat 4 egg whites in another large bowl with the electric mixer on medium speed until very foamy, white and doubled in volume, but not stiff enough to hold peaks, 1 to 2 minutes.

It is important that there is no hint of yolk in the whites or they will now whip up.

The bowl cannot have any water in it or oil as well as the attachments to the electric mixer. The whites will not whip up.

Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the nut mixture until just combined.

With the candied oranges fill the bottom and line the sides of prepared cake pan.

Next scrape the batter over the oranges evenly, taking care to not move the oranges slices.

Bake 38-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cake should have the appearance of golden brown.

Remove cake from spring form pan onto a large dessert platter by inverting it. Then pour syrup over the cake while it is still hot.

Set cake aside to cool completely before plating and serving.

Orange Almond Cake

For the cake

1 ½ cups dry roast almond pieces, processed to flour

4 large eggs, at room temperature, separated

½ cup honey

1 tsp. vanilla extract

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

Candied orange and syrup

1 ½ cup Sugar

¾ cup water

2 or 3 medium oranges, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 350 ° F

Heat the sugar and water in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Add oranges and cook over low heat for 15 minutes until candied. Set aside.

Prepare cake pan spreading butter on sides of pan and lining the bottom with parchment paper.

Process dry roasted almonds pieces in a food processor or blender until finely ground.

Beat 4 egg yolks, ½ cup honey, vanilla, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until well combined. Add the ground almond flour and beat on low until combined.

Beat 4 egg whites in another large bowl with the electric mixer on medium speed until very foamy, white and doubled in volume, but not stiff enough to hold peaks, 1 to 2 minutes. It is important that there is no hint of yolk in the whites or they will now whip up. The bowl cannot have any water in it or oil as well as the attachments to the electric mixer. The whites will not whip up.

Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the nut mixture until just combined.

With the candied oranges fill the bottom and line the sides of prepared cake pan. Next scrape the batter over the oranges evenly; taking care to not move the oranges slices.

Bake 38-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cake should have the appearance of golden brown.

Remove and unmold cake onto a large dessert platter by inverting it. Then pour syrup over the cake while it is still hot. Set cake aside to cool completely before plating and serving.