Winter Fruits

Eva Powell, a former elementary-school librarian in Mitchell, Indiana, has won the town’s pudding contest five times with her recipe for persimmon pudding with a crispy, cake-like crust.

In Sicily, this salad is traditionally prepared with wild chicory, a slightly peppery, tender-leafed green. Substitute with arugula if you can’t find wild chicory. See the recipe for Sicilian Fennel Salad with Oranges, Arugula, and Black Olives »

While visiting New York City’s Gramercy Tavern, pastry chef Claudia Fleming garnished this dessert with the cinnamon stick and star anise used to poach the oranges; she also drizzles the plate with a bit of creme fraiche. See the Confit of Oranges filled with Orange Sorbet recipe »

A Majorcan specialty, this sweet and tart pomegranate sauce is particularly suited to quail. See the recipe for Quail in Pomegranate Sauce »

Roast chicken is a classic dish all over the world. In this beautiful version from Spain, the bird is rubbed with musky, floral saffron and stuffed with bright lemons and fresh rosemary before being popped in the oven. Get the recipe for Roast Chicken with Saffron and Lemon »

Fragrant orange flower water, called zhaar in Morocco and made from the blossoms of bergamot orange trees, perfumes this delicate salad, in which sweet citrus is offset by spicy radish.
Get the recipe for Orange and Radish Salad »

Chunks of lemon and cracked coriander seeds lend a bright flavor to these earthy olives. See the recipe for Lemon and Coriander Marinated Olives »

Rosemary-infused honey gives this dish a sweet and aromatic flavor. Get the recipe for Salmon Glazed with Rosemary- and Lemon-Infused Honey »

Complement this dish’s intense lemon flavors with a hefeweizen served with a lemon wedge.

In this straightforward white wine braise, chicken legs are brightened with tart kumquat and salty olives. Try serving it over couscous. See the Recipe for Braised Chicken with Kumquats and Green Olives»

Lemon extract, juice, and zest permeate a rich and moist loaf to create what really is is the best damn lemon cake we’ve ever had.

This citrus-spiked sheet cake is a Texas potluck favorite. **See the Recipe for Grapefruit Cake »**

This thick, tangy spread is great spooned on toast and as a filling for tarts and cakes. Get the recipe for Lemon Curd »

Garlic, lemon, and rosemary enhance simple, juicy roast chicken.

A heady mixture of olive oil and preserved oranges flavors this moist, dense Sicilian dessert.

GREECE Thessaloniki chef Aglaia Patronaki showed us how to make this delicious, herb-strewn, skillet-braised chicken dish. See the recipe for Kotopoulo me Dendrolivano »

Chopped phyllo dough gives this orange-scented custard cake from Crete its layered texture. Get the recipe for Orange Cake (Portokalopita) » **

Pork shoulder is soaked overnight in a citrusy mojo marinade in this Cuban recipe. Get the recipe for Mojo-Marinated Pork Shoulder Roast (Pernil Asado Con Mojo) »

This revelatory dessert of pomegranate seeds and nuts is adapted from a recipe that appears in the now out-of-print cookbook Seductive Flavours of the Levant. Ger the recipe for Pomegranate with Nuts and Orange Flower Syrup (Khosaf al-Rumman) »

Even though this soup is usually served at Christmas dinner in Greek households, the lemon flavor makes it great year-round. You can easily substitute cooked rice for the raw and shorten simmering time to get this going quickly. Get the recipe for Greek Lemon Chicken Soup (Avgolemono) »

Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams in Columbus, OH has some of the most amazing flavors around. In this recipe, the addition of roasted beets and poppy seeds lends the end product a festive hue and a bit of crunch. ‪

This creamy lemon pie with homemade candied lemon peel is a delicious frozen treat. Get the recipe for Lemon Icebox Pie »

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This recipe is inspired by rosl, a Jewish specialty from the Ukraine that calls for pickling beets in brine.

Honey makes for a more flavorful glaze for carrots than sugar does. In this dish, orange zest keeps the sweetness from becoming cloying. See the recipe for Orange and Honey-Glazed Carrots »

In this simple, elegant salad, the spicy flavor of thinly sliced raw kale is offset by creamy Pecorino cheese, bright lemon, and sweet-tart dried currants.

This richly flavored pomegranate margarita is just as good sipped on a cold day in front of a roaring fire as it is on a balmy afternoon spent on a tropical beach.

Home cook Linda Worsley gave us the recipe for these luscious buns filled with fragrant orange-flavored butter.

This sweet, tart fruit pie is a beautiful showcase for the flavors of fall and winter. It’s great on a holiday table, and is at its best when served alongside a plate of cheese: the rich quince flavor balances beautifully with a wedge of funky, crumbly blue beside it on the plate.

This Middle-Eastern-influenced tart heaps white chocolate-orange ganache accented with rose water into a pistachio shortbread crust. Pomegranate meringue shaped to form rose petals makes for a show-stopping finish.

Lemon infuses this layered masterpiece in three ways: zested into the batter, in a tart syrup that get drizzled over the cakes, and in a thick lemon curd frosting.

A thyme-infused butter enhances the flavor of this skillet-seared steak. See the recipe for Porterhouse With Lemon-Thyme Butter »

This rich, silky mousse brightened with tangy lemons makes an elegant end to a meal.

These cupcakes are the perfect spring or summer treat–light and airy angel food cake is topped with a tangy lemon-mascarpone frosting and garnished with fresh berries. Get the recipe for Angel Food Cupcakes with Lemon Mascarpone Frosting »

Persimmons come in two varieties. There’s the Hachiya, which can only be eaten when the flesh is incredibly ripe and runny, and the Fuyu, which can be eaten either firm or soft. You want to seek out firm Fuyu persimmons for this recipe (they are short and squat, with a flat underside), as they give the best texture to the finished chutney.

After simmering clementines in simple syrup, you end up with pockets of sweet, tender fruit suspended in a bright, slightly tart liquid. They make the perfect gift for cocktail lovers and home bakers. This recipe comes to us from Marisa McClellan, author of Food in Jars: Preserving in Small Batches Year-Round.

Sweetened with ripe persimmons and dates, and coated with a tart, toothsome, lemon-sugar glaze, these bars are a wonderful celebration of late-fall fruits. Get the recipe for Lemon-Glazed Persimmon Bars »

Pungent Robiola cheese can be substituted with brie, ricotta, or any other soft cheese in this simple no-cook appetizer. Get the recipe for Robiola-Stuffed Figs with Pomegranate »