Candied Orange & Blackberry Yogurt Parfait

For whatever reason, I really wanted to make candied oranges. Really, they're the easiest thing in the world, but I felt like if I were going to make them, I'd also have to bake a cake because they are essentially a garnish. But, I didn't want to bake a cake, rather, I didn't want to have a cake in my house that I would eat too much of. So, I made them anyway and came up with a much better use. I chopped some up and ate them for breakfast with some blackberries, almonds, honey and greek yogurt. It was divine- now I can't wait for tomorrow's breakfast!

CANDIED ORANGE SLICES

Cut 3 oranges into slices about a quarter of an inch thick. Put 3 cups water and 1 cup sugar in a medium pot, stir them together and bring to a boil. Add the oranges and cook over medium heat- turn them occasionally until the liquid becomes a thin and syrupy and the slices are translucent. This takes about 20 minutes. Then reduce the heat to low and simmer until the syrup becomes thick and the slices are tender, turning occasionally, about 10 minutes. Then transfer the orange slices to parchment paper to cool.

Caramelized Fig & Pecan Custard Pie

 

I recently discovered the awesomeness of caramelized figs- so easy, and so tasty. I know they're great by themselves, but found they're even better when plopped on a bed of custard, surrounded by candied pecans, and finished off with a buttery whole wheat crust. 

There are a lot of steps to this recipe, but they're all easy, it just takes a little time.

CARAMELIZED FIG AND PECAN CUSTARD PIE

PIE CRUST: Put 1 cup whole wheat flour + 1/2 cup white flour + 1 tsp salt in a mixer, Blend together quickly and add 1 stick butter chopped into small pieces + 3-4 tbsps ice water, and run mixer on medium high speed until dough is formed. Shape dough into a ball and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Once dough is chilled, roll out and fit into a buttered pie plate. bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes, until edges are browned and crust is cooked all the way through. Let cool.

CARAMELIZED FIGS: Cut 8-10 figs in half vertically, coat liberally with sugar and cook face down in a frying pan for 3 minutes over high heat until sugar caramelizes. Flip over, cook for one more minute. Remove from the pan and let cool.

CANDIED PECANS: This is the easy (ie. lazy) way I have always made them- you need to move quickly and stir frequently though.  Stick a big gob of butter, 1/3 of a stick or so, 1/2 cup sugar, a pinch of sea salt and some cinnamon in a non-stick pan over medium high heat.  Stir them together and once they're all mixed up add 1 cup pecans into the pan. Now, stir, stir stir for a couple of minutes until the mixture starts to brown, and the sugar starts to caramelize. Turn off the heat immediately. Put on a plate they're not going to stick to and plop in the freezer for about 5 minutes until just cool- not frozen.

CUSTARD: You can make your own, but I have a big canister of Bird's english custard and that's what I made mine from. Just make sure to have 1 cup and to chill it once you've made or accquired it.

Once everything is cool, spread the custard on the pie and then top with the figs and pecans. yum.