The arrival of blood oranges will help gladden the coldest heart this winter

Meanwhile going out of the house here is an ordeal battling against the gales, horizontal icy rain and bits of flying branches. It would be easy to get annoyed but the arrival of blood oranges would gladden the coldest heart. It’s like they were designed to bring a bit of warming Mediterranean sunshine into our lives at this time of year. They’re only here for a short time like a treasured friend who visits from abroad.

Blood oranges look almost the same as a regular orange, apart from a little mottling of red on the skin but cut in to reveal a dramatic blood red flesh. They have a sweet sour taste and can be used in both sweet and savoury dishes. They work particularly well with oily fish. Smoked mackerel is a good standby at this time of year and if you source a variety from Ireland, all the better – ask a fishmonger or some of the supermarkets stock a product from Killybegs. In the first recipe here the mackerel is served with some raw thinly sliced beetroot, red onion and blood oranges in a vinaigrette. It tastes great but also looks fabulous – enough to brighten a dull day. You could replace the mackerel with duck confit in this recipe. You can buy duck confit in delis and supermarkets now – just roast and then shred the meat. Either way this salad would be all the better for a slice or two of buttered wheaten bread on the side.

For something sweet the oranges are whizzed into a baked cheesecake slice here. The base is crushed cornflakes and digestives mixed with butter. The cheesecake mixture has mascarpone and cream cheeses with eggs, sugar, flour and the zest of blood oranges. It’s baked, cooled and then chilled. Peel the blood oranges that you’ve zested until the flesh is exposed and there’s no pith. Cut into segments between the membranes and then arrange over the cheesecake slices.

When you have a fruit that’s rare, precious and only here for a short time it’s a good idea to make the most of it. You can candy the orange zest by peeling it off with vegetable parer and cut into strips. Place in water and boil then repeat this a couple of times to take out the bitterness. Add to a sugar syrup, cook for a minute then toss the strips in sugar. Dry on parchment paper and store in an airtight container for up to a month. The syrup can be added to yoghurt or drizzled over ice-cream.

The Italian liqueur Limoncello is well known but there is an orange flavoured variation that’s also a good way of using up the skin of blood oranges, known as Orangecello. You just need to peel the zest into strips, place in a bowl and cover with vodka ( or gin works well too). Cover with cling and leave for a week. Make a sugar syrup and add to the orange vodka. Strain and bottle. I squeeze the juice from the oranges and freeze in an ice-cube tray. Place a couple of cubes into a glass, add a toot of orangecello and some tonic. Shut your eyes and transport yourself to that sunny beach…..