Kumquats on 2011 hot ingredient list

Louisiana’s citrus season continues, with plenty of juicy oranges, grapefruit and satsumas rolling into markets and groceries from regional growers, and if you’re lucky enough, your own backyard. Kumquats are also in good supply, that tiny native of Japan that flourishes here, the quiet garnish in fruit baskets and that quintessential snack on the winter table. The kumquat’s split personality, a result of a sweet rind and sour flesh, requires you pop the whole thing in your mouth and keep chewing. It also means you either like them or you don’t, depending on the quality of past experiences. (Ever been in a tangle with one whose sweet side fell short?) But a kumquat’s intensity, is in fact, what makes it handy in recipes and is likely the reason it’s on hospitality and restaurant consultant Andrew Freeman & Co.’s “Hot Ingredients in 2011” list.* This week, kumquats made it into two recipes at my house. First, they were very simply thinly sliced and added to a citrus, spinach salad with old-fashioned poppyseed dressing. Second, they became the backbone of the flavorful sauce in kumquat chicken. Preheat oven to 350. Slice in half and seed one pint of kumquats and sauté in two tablespoons olive oil heated to medium high heat for about three minutes. Add a half cup or orange juice, a quarter cup of honey or maple syrup, and one bay leaf and reduce by half. Meanwhile, pat dry and salt and pepper four skin-on, bone-in chicken quarters. Saute each side in olive oil to brown (works best if this is also the pan you’ll roast in). Cut an onion in half and slice each half into thin discs. Top chicken with onion slices, kumquat sauce and half cup dry white wine. Cover and cook for 50 minutes. Remove lid and cook for last 10 minutes uncovered.