Blood Orange-Vanilla Beignets & Blood Orange-Ginger Compote

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What better way to celebrate Mardi Gras than with light and airy beignet?

The first time I heard of beignets was when I was attending college at the University of New Mexico. My roommate was from New Orleans and after her Spring Break visit home, she returned with lots of New Orleans snacks and ready made foods. One of the items she brought back was a package of beignet mix, which are basically fried donuts, but very light and airy. For years, I have planned on attempting to make them myself, but never got around to it until now.

My second experience with beignet’s was when I was visiting Dominica, my grandmother’s birthplace. Dominica went back and forth with both Britain and France controlling the island before they earned their independence. With this, there are many French influences on the island in language, traditional dress, architecture and cuisine.

Carnival, what we call Mardi Gras in New Orleans, is celebrated in Dominica and throughout the French Caribbean. So for this year’s Mardi Gras, how about celebrating Caribbean style with these light and fluffy Blood Orange-Vanilla Beignets & Blood Orange-Ginger Compote

The Leeward islands of Dominica, Martinique and Guadeloupe have similar cuisines. Their French influenced cuisine has many similarities to what you might get in NOLA.

This recipe was adapted from Creole by Babette de Rozieres. The author is a Paris based restauranteur who is originally from Guadeloupe so I knew these donuts were going to be delicious. The intense vanilla flavor reminded me of all the sweets whenever I visit the Caribbean. We don’t go gentle with spice and seasonings and these beignets will rival any one you can get while walking through New Orleans’ French Quarter.

Harvest season for many citrus fruits occurs in winter and so this is the time to get a large variety of citrus fruits, including blood orange. I love blood oranges for their tart-sweet flavor and bright color. They look so pretty in salads and desserts. Whenever I see blood oranges at this time of year, I always grab some as they are not always commonly available.

I decided to add the tart-sweet blood orange flavor to the classic beignet. To bring the flavor to yet another level, the compote is the piece de resistance to the whole plate!

…AND DON’T SKIP THE COMPOTE – YOU’LL BE SORRY!!!

A delicious way to celebrate Fat Tuesday!

Light and airy beignets bursting with vanilla flavor…so irresistible…you can’t eat just one!

Enjoy your breakfast Mardi Gras style and you’ll be instantly transported to New Orleans’ French Quarter!

…and don’t stop there. How about enjoying some more NOLA cuisine to celebrate Mardi Gras!

• Shrimp & Okra Gumbo
• Hush Puppies
• New Orleans Bread Pudding

DO YOU YUM? SAVE IT BELOW!

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