My way of recycling my leftover, homemade marmalade of previous years. The citrusy pieces are not dense and rubbery as Turkish delights, but somewhat creamier and really delicious, with intense flavor and aroma. I think they will pair beautifully with spicy cheese, with cookies, both sweet and savory, as well as with chocolates.
You can start with a smaller quantity of marmalade, halving the recipe.
2 ½ kilos (quarts) marmalade: Seville orange, lemon, tangerine, or a combination of different kinds
1 ½ cups cornstarch (260 grams)
About 2 cups orange juice or water
34 gram agar-agar
2 cups shelled, unsalted pistachios
About 2 cups ground pistachios to coat the pieces
If the marmalade has big pieces of peel, puree in the blender.
In a heavy-bottomed pot, over medium heat, warm the marmalade, stirring often.
In a bowl dilute the cornstarch with 1 cup orange juice or water, making sure it is well dissolved. If need be, add a bit more water.
Add the diluted cornstarch to the marmalade, increase the heat and stirring constantly, continue cooking until the marmalade boils –be careful because it will probably splatter, so better wear kitchen gloves. Boil the marmalade, stirring constantly, until it thickens considerably, about 10-15 minutes.
Remove from the heat. In a saucepan pour 1 cup orange juice or water and sprinkle the agar- agar stirring once. Let stand 5 minutes, then place over medium-high heat and cook, stirring constantly with a whisk, for 5 minutes. Add 1 cup of the hot marmalade and continue to cook stirring, for another 5 minutes.
Pour the agar-agar mixture into the pot with the hot marmalade, and cook over medium high heat, stirring constantly for 10-15 minutes, until very thick. Stir in the whole pistachios.
Rub 2 baking trays –about 13X9 inch, or 33X23 cm– with olive oil and divide the mixture between them. Let cool and refrigerate overnight, uncovered.
Cut into squares or bars, roll the pieces on ground pistachios, and store in boxes in the refrigerator.
