Ingredients Fruits 25 Bright, Citrus-Forward Recipes to Make All Winter By Food & Wine Editors Updated on November 30, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Victor Protasio When it's cold and gray outside, citrus adds a welcome pop of vibrant color and bright, tangy flavor to a variety of dishes both sweet and savory. We've put together this collection of recipes showcasing winter citrus to perk up your senses and make use of the season's finest produce offerings. F&W's best citrus dishes include pillowy lemon pudding cakes, roasted chicken with tangerines, crisp crab balls with grapefruit salad, and more. 01 of 25 Grilled Shrimp with Oregano and Lemon © John Kernick The sauce for this shrimp is a simple version of Italy's salmoriglio, typically made with lemon and herbs in a mortar. The sauce is also delicious spooned over grilled swordfish or any other meaty fish. Get the Recipe 02 of 25 Puntarelle-Citrus Salad with Roasted Beets Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Christine Keely Puntarelle stays bright and crisp in this salad, while beets bring a tender, earthy sweetness. Puntarelle is a specialty buy — check your local farmers market, or substitute another bitter chicory. Get the Recipe 03 of 25 Citrus and Fennel Chicken with Olives and Calabrian Chiles Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen A mix of citrus, buttery olives, and spicy, oil-packed chiles punches up the flavor of braised chicken leg quarters. Toasted fennel seeds and dry sherry add a pleasant warmth to the sauce, which begs to be served with a baguette for sopping. Get the Recipe 04 of 25 Chilled Grapefruit-Caramel Meringue Pie © Tina Rupp Most pastry chefs love lemon and orange, but for this recipe Deborah Snyder champions grapefruit. In one cold, creamy dessert, she layers pink grapefruit curd in a crunchy graham cracker crust with caramel cream, caramel sauce, and a delicate topping of fluffy meringue. Get the Recipe 05 of 25 Blood Orange-Pine Nut Agrodolce Sauce © Christina Holmes Chef Jennifer Jasinski combines sweet-tart blood-orange juice with pine nuts and garlic for a quick and delicious sauce that’s great on seared scallops as well as chicken thighs and roast pork. Get the Recipe 06 of 25 Roast Lamb with Orange and Lemon © Roland Persson Italian chef Antonio Ciminelli infuses roast lamb with orange and lemon zest; the citrusy pan juices make a silky, lightly tart sauce. The seasoned and tied lamb can be refrigerated overnight. Bring to room temperature before roasting. Get the Recipe 07 of 25 Avocado, Orange, and Jicama Salad © Antonis Achilleos Feta is a fun, briny addition to this salad's Mexican mix of jicama, avocado, and cilantro. Get the Recipe 08 of 25 Winter Citrus with Frozen Yogurt and Pistachios Victor Protasio Suzanne Goin, chef at the famed Lucques in Los Angeles, marked 20 years of business in 2018 with a dinner that celebrated her now-classic blend of French cuisine and California produce. This light winter dessert celebrates citrus and dresses it up with browned butter, frozen yogurt, and sbrisolona. Get the Recipe 09 of 25 Honey Cake with Citrus Frosting John Kernick This tender, light honey cake, laced with hints of coffee and orange juice, is perfect with a cup of tea. The top is adorned with brilliant slices of candied orange, making it almost too pretty to eat. Get the Recipe 10 of 25 Flaky Blood Orange Tart © Quentin Bacon This stunning yet simple crostata, which uses juicy blood oranges at their peak, is nothing but sweet-tart oranges and a bit of sugar on a flaky, buttery crust. Get the Recipe 11 of 25 Lemon Pudding Cakes © James Baigrie These pillowy cakelets are adapted from The Greyston Bakery Cookbook. "When you overwhelm dry ingredients with wet ones, an amazing texture separation happens," food writer Sara Kate Gillingham-Ryan says. "These cakes are rich without being too heavy." Get the Recipe 12 of 25 Meyer Lemon Gnocchi © John Kernick For super-tender gnocchi, chef Steve Corry is careful not to overwork the dough. After draining the gnocchi, he sautés them until they're slightly crispy, then tosses them with the lemony sauce. Instead of sprinkling the gnocchi with Parmesan cheese, Corry likes to shave bottarga — dried and salted gray mullet roe — over the top, but the dish is also delicious without it. Get the Recipe 13 of 25 Meyer Lemon Marmalade © Tina Rupp Food writer Emily Kaiser Thelin devised this simple, fail-safe recipe while living in Oakland, California, with two excessively productive Meyer lemon trees. Likely a cross between an orange and a lemon, Meyer lemons give this sweet-tart marmalade a bright citrus flavor. Get the Recipe 14 of 25 Crab Balls with Grapefruit Salad © Tina Rupp The crab and grapefruit in this dish first appeared at the restaurant Spice Market tossed with cold glass noodles. Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten decided it was a "messy pile," but liked the flavors, so he reconfigured them into crab balls rolled in panko and sesame seeds. The side salad is a fabulous mix of tart (grapefruit), spicy (Thai chile), and sweet (ginger syrup). Get the Recipe 15 of 25 Four-Citrus Salsa © Lucy Schaeffer Juicy bits of orange, grapefruit, lemon, and lime form the base of this vibrant salsa. Green olive tapenade and sliced red onion add extra zestiness, which makes this salsa so good on everything from fish to avocado. Get the Recipe 16 of 25 Lemon Curd Tart Victor Protasio To make a simple topping for this elegant dessert, add two tablespoons granulated sugar to the leftover egg whites and whip to stiff peaks to make a meringue. Garnishing the tart with mixed citrus segments adds a natural sweetness to balance the rich, tart lemon curd filling. Get the Recipe 17 of 25 Spicy Grilled Shrimp with Yuzu Kosho Pesto © Anna Williams Yuzu kosho is a hot, spicy, and aromatic Japanese condiment made from hot chiles and ultra-citrusy yuzu zest. It's the key to this super-simple and utterly delicious recipe from chef Ricardo Zarate. Get the Recipe 18 of 25 Roast Chicken with Tangerines © Quentin Bacon This six-pound bird yields a lot of meat. But if you want even more, get a capon (a castrated rooster). They're quite huge: nine to 11 pounds. You'll have to increase the amount of ingredients relative to the size of the bird, which will also take longer to cook. Get the Recipe 19 of 25 Grapefruit Granité with Mangoes and White Rum Mojito © John Kernick Unlike traditional granita, which is stirred frequently as it freezes so that light ice flakes form, legendary chef Jacques Pépin freezes his granité in a block until it is completely firm, then softens it in the fridge until it's slightly slushy before scooping it into bowls. The sauce for his light, tropical dessert is a riff on the mojito, the minty cocktail. Get the Recipe 20 of 25 Citrus-Marinated Turkey © Petrina Tinslay In this turkey recipe, chef Jose Garces prepares the bird in the same style as a traditional Yucatán dish called cochinita pibil, a slow-roasted pork marinated in citrus and annatto paste. Brining and marinating the turkey make it especially succulent. Get the Recipe 21 of 25 Roasted Soy-Citrus Chilean Sea Bass Photo by Jacob Fox / Food Styling by Lauren McAnelly / Prop Styling by Jessica Thomas ; Susan Mitchell To make this tender, flaky oven-roasted Chilean sea bass, butter-rubbed fillets are baked in a citrus-forward mixture of freshly juiced oranges, ponzu, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic, which infuses the fish with a lovely flavor without overwhelming it. Get the Recipe 22 of 25 Tangy Key Lime Pie © Quentin Bacon Based on a recipe from Florida Keys Cooking pamphlet, published in 1946 by Patricia's Notebook newsletter, this pie is not the ordinarily dense and cloyingly sweet version. Folding in beaten egg whites gives it a light, mousse-like texture. The pie needs to chill overnight, so plan accordingly. Get the Recipe 23 of 25 Spiced Duck Breasts with Mandarin Oranges and Dates Alison Miksch In this recipe, the rendered duck fat is used to finish fluffy couscous that’s steamed with orange juice and turmeric, then tossed with dates, almonds, and fresh herbs. Consider it a Moroccan twist on duck a l’orange. The duck is seasoned with ras el hanout, a bold spice blend that complements the full-flavored meat. Get the Recipe 24 of 25 Carrot and Orange Cake with Sour Cream Glaze Antonis Achilleos This carrot cake from cookbook author Nik Sharma is something special. "Chopped pieces of dried apricots and candied orange peels give each slice of cake a spot of unexpected fruit sweetness, while the pistachios add texture to the soft cake," he says. "Serve it with a cup of warm tea or coffee to complete the experience." Get the Recipe 25 of 25 Salad of Pink Radicchio, Citrus, and Mushroom Bagna Cauda Gentl & Hyers In this recipe from Cooking with Mushrooms by Andrea Gentl, melted anchovies and porcini mushroom powder lend a savory depth to nutty brown butter bagna cauda, yielding a powerhouse sauce that's perfect for drizzling on a wintery salad. The sweetness of vibrant Cara Cara oranges mellows the bitter radicchio and adds a pop of color. Get the Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit