SEASONAL STARS New beginnings

Make the most of the first harvest of the year with these comforting recipes from Samuel Goldsmith

- Samuel Goldsmith

Blood orange upside-down cake

Using blood oranges in this recipe makes the most of their flavour and beautiful colour.

SERVES 6-8 PREP 30 mins COOK 35 mins EASY V

2 blood oranges, zested

200g butter, softened, plus extra for the tin

200g light brown soft sugar

4 eggs

125g plain flour

75g polenta or cornmeal

2 tsp baking powder

100g natural yogurt

2-3 tbsp milk (optional)

1 Carefully remove the pith from the zested oranges, being careful to keep them whole. Slice into thin rounds, picking out and discarding the pips. Set aside.

2 Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4. Butter and line the base of a 23cm loose-bottomed cake tin with baking parchment. Put the tin on a baking sheet, then arrange the orange slices in the base, overlapping slightly to cover as much of it as possible.

3 Beat the butter, sugar and zest together until pale and fluffy. Mix in the eggs, one at a time, folding in a couple of spoonfuls of flour between each addition to prevent the mixture from curdling. Fold in the remaining flour, polenta and baking powder followed by the yogurt. If the mixture seems a little dry, add 2-3 tbsp milk. Bake for 35-40 mins until a skewer comes out clean. Serve in slices. Will keep chilled for up to three days.

(8) 458 kcals fat 24g saturates 14g carbs 53g sugars 34g fibre 1g protein 7g salt 0.9g

BLOOD ORANGE

WHAT TO LOOK FOR?

A blood orange can usually be told apart due to the rosy patches over the skin (though this is not true for all). Because they're not native to the UK, you want to ensure that the skin isn't shrivelled, so you know it's as fresh as possible. Give the skin a sniff and it should smell fragrant.