Arance Caramellate

Orange and caramel is a classic combination for a reason. The tart and sweet flavors bring out the best in each other.

All you need is:

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup water
• spices (in the winter,
  I add anise seed, cloves, and cinnamon; you can also scrape in some
  vanilla bean)
• 2 firm oranges (peeled and
  sliced into thin rounds)
• 3 tbsps of orange
  liqueur (Grand Marnier) or orange blossom water

You’ll need the caramel to be more liquid so that it coats the oranges easily, almost like a syrup.

1. Make a light caramel syrup by melting the sugar, spices and water in a saucepan. Stir well until all sugar is dissolved and bring to a boil. Take off heat before it takes on too deep of a color and still has a bit of liquidity.

2. Take out the star anise, if you used it, and stir in the liqueur/other flavorings into the caramel.

3. Pour syrup over the orange slices and serve hot or cold.

I first tried this dessert at a small Italian restaurant in London and it was a lovely finishing touch to the meal.