Sip, slurp, slice bounty of citrus

I'm writing this column having just spent an hour with our local fruit gleaner picking tangelos from my tree. We must have pulled at least 40 pounds. Earlier in the day, I'd picked an additional three dozen pieces of fruit for recipe testing. And the danged tree still looks like it hasn't been touched. This time of year in Southern California and Arizona is an embarrassment of citrus riches. We've got so many tangerines, oranges, lemons, grapefruits and tangelos that it seems impossible to figure out what to do with them all. You can always eat what's left. Here's the odd thing, though: Considering how much citrus we have just hanging around, there aren't nearly enough ways to use them. Unlike oranges, tangerines and grapefruit, recipes don't grow on trees. So once you've tired of peeling all that fruit and eating it out of hand, what do you do? Here are a few ideas: One of my favorite ways to serve citrus is in a fruit salad. This isn't your grandma's mixture (or maybe it is, if she was a really good, slightly fussy cook), and it's really too simple to justify a full recipe. Peel and slice the fruit into wheels - the more types the merrier, so you'll get a nice combination of colors and sizes. Then just dress them with a simple syrup made of sugar cooked with water until it's clear. Use 1/2 cup to 2/3 cup sugar for every cup of water, depending on your taste. Well, it doesn't have to be quite that simple. Steep herbs or spices in the syrup while it's cooking. Vanilla is almost always a great match for citrus; cloves are too. And adding just a little honey adds a sweet muskiness. Be gentle with the seasoning; you want to accent the flavor of the citrus, not disguise it. Citrus sorbets are just one step more complicated, and they're terrific either by themselves or in combination with fruit salad. Start with that flavored simple syrup again - this time equal parts water and sugar. You'll want about 3 cups of syrup for every cup of juice. Freeze it in an ice cream maker or in a cake pan in the freezer - the crystals will be coarser, but that's refreshing sometimes. Be sure to include lots of zest in the syrup. One thing to remember when cooking with citrus is that there is a big difference in flavor between the juice and the zest. You'll almost always want to use a combination. The juice primarily carries the simple flavors of the fruit - sweetness and tartness plus the broad character of the variety. The zest, where the fruit's oils are, carries the complex flavors. You can extract them by simmering the zest in a syrup or by simply crushing it with sugar. A bowl and a spoon work just fine for this; just rub the peel and sugar together until the sugar is saturated with the color of the fruit. One thing that does make it easier to find recipes to use citrus is that even though the various fruits are quite distinctly different, they can be used more or less interchangeably in cooking. If you've got a favorite orange sorbet, you can easily use grapefruit to get a different but very good dessert. Let's face it, when life hands you lemons like we're getting now, it would be a shame to settle for lemonade. Tangelo Pudding Servings: 4 • 1 tablespoon finely grated tangelo zest (from 2 to 3 tangelos) • 1 tablespoon sugar • 3 tablespoons cornstarch • Salt • 2 cups freshly squeezed tangelo juice (from 10 to 12 tangelos) • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter • 1 tablespoon orange flower water • 1 1/2 teaspoons honey 1. In a small bowl using a fork or spoon, smash the tangelo zest with the sugar to moisten the sugar with the fruit's aromatic oils. Transfer the mixture to a 1-quart heavy-bottom saucepan along with the cornstarch and a tiny pinch of salt. Whisk in just enough of the tangelo juice to make a smooth slurry, then add the remaining juice and whisk to smooth. 2. Place the pan over medium heat and gently bring the mixture to a boil. Cook, stirring frequently, until the juice has thickened, just a few minutes. Cook for 1 minute more, then remove from heat and whisk in the butter, orange flower water and honey. This makes a generous 2 cups of pudding. 3. Divide the pudding among juice glasses or Champagne glasses and refrigerate until set, about 2 hours. Each serving: 123 calories; 1 gram protein; 24 grams carbohydrates; 0 fiber; 3 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 8 mg cholesterol; 18 grams sugar; 2 mg sodium. Adapted from Deborah Madison's "Seasonal Fruit Desserts." Lazy Mary's Lemon Tart Servings: 8 • 1 unbaked (9-inch) tart shell • 1 large Meyer lemon (about 6 ounces), cut into 8 pieces and seeded • 1 1/2 cups superfine sugar • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract • 4 eggs 1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Prick the bottom of the tart shell lightly with a fork, line it with parchment paper or aluminum foil and fill it with pie weights (you can use dried beans and save them to use as weights the next time you bake). Place the tart shell on a baking sheet and bake until the rim of the tart is dried and set, about 15 minutes (time may vary depending on the dough or brand). Remove the weights and the aluminum foil, and return the tart shell to the oven to bake until the crust is set but not completely baked through, about 10 more minutes. 2. Meanwhile, prepare the filling. In a blender, puree the lemon, sugar, butter, vanilla and eggs until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. This makes about 3 cups of filling. Pour the filling into the pre-baked tart shell until the filling almost reaches the top of the rim of the crust; you may not use all of the filling. 3. Place the tart in the oven and bake until puffed and golden and the filling jiggles only slightly when tapped, about 40 minutes. The filling will brown around the edges but should not be overly brown in the center; if it begins to brown too quickly, cover the top lightly with aluminum foil and continue cooking. Remove and cool on a rack. Each serving: 387 calories; 5 grams protein; 50 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram fiber; 20 grams fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 124 mg cholesterol; 39 grams sugar; 126 mg sodium. Adapted from "The Food52 Cookbook" by Amanda Hesser, Merrill Stubbs and the Food 52 community. Tart with Grapefruit Curd and Campari Servings: 8 • 1 unbaked (9-inch) tart shell • 2 whole eggs • 2 egg yolks • 1/4 teaspoon salt • 1/2 cup sugar • 1/2 cup grapefruit juice (from 2 large grapefruit) • 1 teaspoon grated grapefruit zest (from 1 large grapefruit) • 1 teaspoon Campari • 6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces • 1/4 cup chopped pistachios 1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Prick the bottom of the tart shell lightly with a fork, line it with parchment or aluminum foil and fill it with pie weights (you can use dried beans and save them to use as weights the next time you bake). Place the tart shell on a baking sheet and bake until the rim of the tart is dried and set, about 15 minutes (timing may vary depending on the dough or brand). Remove the weights and the aluminum foil and return the tart shell to the oven to bake until it is well browned, about 30 more minutes. Set aside to cool slightly. 2. Meanwhile, prepare the filling. In a small heavy-bottomed saucepan, beat the whole eggs, egg yolks, salt and sugar until smooth and light colored. Add the grapefruit juice, zest, Campari and butter and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the butter melts, about 5 minutes. 3. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue cooking until the curd is thick enough that it coats the back of a spoon and that when you draw your finger across the curd it leaves a definite track, about 5 minutes. The curd should be as thick as thick hollandaise. Remove from heat. 4. Pour the curd through a strainer into the pre-baked tart shell and chill until firm. Sprinkle the chopped pistachios over the top before serving. Each serving: 286 calories; 5 grams protein; 26 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram fiber; 18 grams fat; 8 grams saturated fat; 116 mg cholesterol; 14 grams sugar; 183 mg sodium.