Last summer in France, surrounded by beautiful patisseries, I couldn’t stop having fruit for dessert.

It was an unexpected turn of events for someone who usually sides with team “If It’s Not Chocolate, It’s Not Dessert.”

But the markets were chockers with plums, and I discovered a thing: roast the plums with a bit of water, sugar, and wine, and you ended up with a sweet-tart-fragrant dessert that begged to be served with a generous dollop (or three) of crème fraîche in the evening or dropped onto a bowl of yogurt in the morning.
I had been craving my summer roasted plum + crème fraîche combo for the past few weeks, which was inconvenient, because plum season is at least three months away. So I set to work with what I had: blood oranges, which are piling up at the grocery store in Virginia and at the farmers market in California.

As with developing any recipe, there were a few failed batches before I hit the jackpot.

But once I did, these were perfect: tangy, sweet, flavorful, and with a bit of their own syrup to drizzle over whatever you’re serving them with.

Make a big batch of these, then enjoy them on brekky and dessert for the next few days. Do it before orange season is up!

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Previously:
One year ago: Kale Salad with Farro, Parmesan, Pine Nuts, and Dried Fruit
Two years ago: Truffled Kettle Corn (confession: had this + red wine for dinner the other night)

And for my Australians:
Six months ago: Salade Lyonnaise + A Little Taste of Lyon
A year and a half ago: Chocolate, Cherry, and Hazelnut Fougasse (basically just a ton of chocolate and dried cherries and nuts held together by a tangle of dough)

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Roasted Blood Orange Compote

Inspired by my summer in the South of France
Makes about 2 cups, or enough to top about 4 breakfasts or desserts

Ingredients

2lb 14oz (1.32kg/5-6 big) oranges (blood oranges are pretty, but as you can see in the pictures of this particular batch, navels will work just as well)
1 1/2 teaspoons, packed (7g) brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon to 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, to taste
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons white wine (if you gave up wine for Lent: why?, and, you can just substitute with an extra 2 tablespoons of water. If you don’t have wine, orange liqueur also works!)
6-10 sprigs of thyme, optional
crème fraîche or yogurt, to serve (Trader Joe’s has crème fraîche at a great price!)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375F (190C).

Slice the tops and bottoms off of the oranges. Place the oranges, one of the cut sides down, on a cutting board. Then cut down vertically, following along the edge of the orange, to remove the pith and peel (see picture in recipe headnotes for a visual).

Slice the oranges into 1/4-inch (6cm) thick rounds.

Place the oranges on a 10 inch x 15 inch (25cm x 38cm) rimmed baking sheet. You want the oranges to completely cover the bottom of the baking sheet.

Sprinkle the oranges evenly with brown sugar. Drizzle the vanilla, water, and wine evenly over the oranges. Place the thyme sprigs on top.

Pop into the oven and bake for 30-32 minutes, or until liquid has evaporated but the rendered sugars have not burned to the pan. Remove from oven.

Cover with plastic wrap or tinfoil, or place in a Pyrex topped with its lid, for at least 30 minutes. This allows the oranges to further soften and render more syrup, which is exceptionally nice for drizzling over your yogurt or crème fraîche. (Read: don’t skip this step!)

Notes

These get better the longer they sit, so they make a great make-ahead breakfast or dessert. I think the would keep up to four or five days in the fridge, but they have never lasted that long for me!