Ask a Splendid Table: Bitter oranges can be boon

Q I just found out that Seville oranges are really sour. They ended up in the grocery bag by mistake and I am too lazy to return them. Is this the orange you use to make marmalade?

A You got it right. Seville oranges are one of the sour or bitter marmalade oranges, but they are also the darlings of Caribbean cooks, who use the juice with garlic and olive oil and/or other ingredients to make meat and fish marinades and dipping sauces. (Dipping pan-fried fish in this blend is dynamite.)

Instead of looking at this as a mistake, see it as serendipity. These tart oranges have a short season and don't show up very often. Cash in. You can use them anywhere you would use lemon zest or juice. (Just know these oranges have a lot of seeds). Use the juice instead of vinegar in salad dressings and sprinkle it on roasted vegetables, crushed potatoes, steamed rice, seafood and roasted chicken.

Bigarade is the French name for the bitter-orange family. In the south of France, the leaves of the bitter-orange tree are dried and then steeped to make a tea. While staying in Provence, I tried turning that tea into marinade for fish. It ended up needing some of the sour orange juice, as well, but it was good.

The zest is particularly snappy, so grate it into a plastic bag and freeze it. You can break off whatever you need. Also consider doing a sort of Moroccan-inspired form of hummus for dipping pita bread or raw vegetables, or thin it with broth for an unusual soup. This recipe is essentially a chermoula sauce/marinade done with bitter oranges and then added to puréed chickpeas.

If, after this, you fall in love with bitter oranges and can't get them, you can substitute one part fresh lime juice and one-half part fresh orange juice.

Lynne Rossetto Kasper hosts "The Splendid Table," Minnesota Public Radio's weekly show, www.splendidtable.org. Send questions to table@mpr.org.