Sweet Treats
Begin by scrubbing six navel oranges, slicing the tops and bottoms off, scoring along the peel several times, and carefully removing the rind and white pith. Then slice the peels into quarter inch strips and put them in a sauce pan and covered them with cold water. Bring that mixture to a boil, then drain and rinse them, and repeat this process two more times.
After the last blanching, drain the peels and set them aside. In the sauce pan whisk together six cups of sugar and two cups of water, and bring that to a boil and simmer the syrup for about ten minutes. Add the peels to the sugar syrup and gently simmer them for about one hour, or until the edges were translucent. Drain them (You can reserve the syrup for use in orange iced tea) and take half of the peels and roll each one in granulated sugar and set them on a piece of parchment paper.
Lay the other half out on a wire cooling rack set over a sheet pan. Allow them both to dry overnight. The next day, melt good quality dark chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water, until it is nice and smooth. Dip each of the non-sugar-rolled strips of peel into the chocolate, and lined them up on a sheet of parchment paper to dry. They are sweet and also slightly sour, with a little edge of orangey bitterness. The chocolate and orange pair together beautifully and make for a wonderful little treat.
Candied Orange Peel
