Serve season’s oranges dressed for dinner — or breakfast

You can’t go wrong with citrus this time of year. This simple dish can serve as a salad, a dessert after a heavy meal, or a starter at brunch.

Use any combination of oranges you like, but do include at least 1 blood orange for that marvelous color.

Lavender and lemon lightly enhance the orange plate in a simple syrup,  which isn’t thick, more like a dressing. Letting it soak into the oranges for a few hours or overnight in the refrigerator boosts the flavors, but that’s not mandatory.

I was lucky enough to have a few fresh lavender blossoms off a plant, but if you don’t, a bit of dried culinary lavender will work for this, too. 

Oranges with lavender-lemon syrup

Ingredients:

1 generous teaspoon fresh lavender flowers, or 1/2 teaspoon dried

1/2 cup water

Juice from 1 tart lemon

Juice from 1 Meyer lemon or ripe lime

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

1 to 2 teaspoons agave syrup or light-flavored honey

3 small navel oranges, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch slices

3 blood oranges, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch slices

Instructions:

You can peel the oranges with your hands, but I like the clear un-pithy edge from using a serrated knife to cut off outer peel. Spread the slices out on a serving plate in a pleasing design.

To make the syrup, stir together in a small pot the juices, water, lavender flowers, sugar and 1 teaspoon agave or honey.

Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat to simmer and cook until lightly syrupy, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat, allow to cool enough to taste it, and add another 1 teaspoon agave or honey if desired. 

Strain the syrup through a strainer into a small pitcher or measuring cup. Drizzle the syrup over the oranges and serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Save the extra syrup for another day’s salad, or use as a mixer with beverages.