Adri Barr Crocetti

The Bloody Monty, or The Orange Monty Redux

My regular readers may recall the delightful mix of orange juice and Amaro Montenegro that made its first appearance in my post Pazza per Amaro. That drink, thanks to Brian of the site Live Like an Italian, has come to be known as the Orange Monty. Since it is blood orange season, and since that season does not last forever, and since the Orange Monty is such a cool drink, I submit for your drinking pleasure the Bloody Monty.

I was cutting and juicing blood oranges for a kitchen experiment, and when I saw all the juice, I felt the tug of distraction in my brain. For those who do not know me, I am somewhat, well, I’ll call it focus challenged. If I were a third grader, I’d probably drive my teacher nuts.

I looked upon the pitcher of remarkably, I mean completely, opaque blood orange juice. This particular juice had come from my Moro blood oranges. They are my favorite because their juice is dark as blood, consistently so, a trait not shared by the other varieties of blood orange, Tarocco and Sanguinello. I saw the juice, and I knew what I had to do. First, I went for the Solerno blood orange liquore, that amazing distillation of Sicilian blood oranges and lemons – the Sicilian sun in a bottle. Yes, Dear Reader, this is a step above. And I’ll make it simple – if James Bond were ordering this one it would go like this:

“One measure of Amaro Montenegro, 2 of blood orange juice, 1/2 of Solerno, over cracked ice. Then add a thin slice of orange.” Just imagine sidling up to a bar and intoning those words.

The Bloody Monty

makes 1

2 ounces blood orange juice
1 ounce Amaro Montenegro
1/2 ounce Solerno blood orange liquore
slice of blood orange for garnish

Fill an 8 ounce glass half full with cracked ice. Add ingredients, stir with a bar spoon, and garnish with a thin slice of blood orange. Serve at once.

A couple of notes:

Blood orange season does not last forever. Buy as many blood oranges as you can, and juice them now. Fill ice cube trays with the juice and freeze. Pop out the cubes and bag them for a supply of juice with which you can dazzle family and guests all year long.

I have always loved the artwork from old fruit and vegetable crates. Italy, home to the world’s finest blood oranges, has a similar tradition of wonderful and whimsical produce artwork. Check out Elizabeth Minchilli in Rome to view a great collection of charmingly beautiful Italian blood orange paper wrappings.

I have no affiliation with any product, manufacturer, or site mentioned in this article.

So dramatic. So exotic. Winter in Sicily. Breakfast in the finest hotel. I am talking about blood oranges, Moro blood oranges in particular. Does any citrus make such a statement? This fruit will have you seeing red.

Cut a Moro open and see brilliant crimson throughout. Juice it and see an opaque liquid as dark as blood. Drink it and experience the marriage of orange with a hint of raspberry over a pedal point of tartness.

This is orange juice for adults. I figured that the juice, along with being a magnificent drink on its own, would be an unbeatable component in panna cotta. There are several kinds of blood oranges – Moro, Tarocco and Sanguinello being the most common. Although they all ripen in winter, the Moros ripen first and are at their peak right now. You can find them in Farmer’s Markets and many supermarkets these days. Lucky me, I find them in my back yard. I love my blood orange trees, but the Moro is my favorite – especially at this time of year. It is a wildly productive tree and now its branches are heavy with a medium sized fruit. The skin is quite rough and sports an enticing crimson blush. And, thank you Mother Nature, Moros are virtually seedless. If you would like your own blood orange tree, check out Four Winds Growers, a great source for hard to find citrus.

Let’s get to the recipe – for a step by step discussion of Panna Cotta and the proper use of gelatin, take a look at my recipe for Espresso Panna Cotta. You will find lots of explanations and photos there. I cooked up several versions – all cream, cream and milk, more milk than cream – more gelatin – less gelatin. I settled on 1 cup of cream and ½ cup of milk. All cream and the dessert was undeniably voluptuous, but the orange flavor was somehow masked, muted, while the 2 to 1 cream to milk ratio allowed for a pleasant creaminess and a startlingly clean orange flavor. I settled on 1 teaspoon of gelatin to allow for a softer set. If you prefer a firm set, go ahead and increase the gelatin to 1 1/4 teaspoons. This panna cotta is something of a trickster – its dusky rose hue belies a bright clean orange flavor. So get busy, find some Moro blood oranges, or any other variety, and make some Panna Cotta. A word about the choice of oranges. Not all blood oranges are created equal. Moros are much darker than the other varieties, so if you use Sanguinellos or Taroccos, your Panna Cotta will take on a lighter hue. The varieties vary in sweetness, you may have to adjust the sugar.

Blood Orange Panna Cotta

makes 4 servings, ½ cup each

1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup blood orange juice, preferably Moro
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon gelatin
fresh berries and mint to garnish

Combine heavy cream, milk and sugar in medium sauce pan. Over medium heat, stir to combine and dissolve the sugar. Heat to scalding. Remove from heat. Meanwhile pour orange juice in small bowl and sprinkle gelatin over it. Set aside for 5 minutes to allow to soften. After gelatin has softened, pour the orange juice mixture into the scalded cream, stirring to combine thoroughly and dissolve gelatin. Pour through a fine strainer into a clean bowl. Place bowl over ice bath, stirring often to cool uniformly. Transfer mixture into serving glasses. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight, until ready to serve. When ready to serve top panna cotta with fresh berries and mint.

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