Seville Orange Substitute

Our answer

Nigella's Chicken Traybake With Bitter Orange And Fennel (from SIMPLY NIGELLA) is an easy one pan dish that marinates chicken in citrus juices before roasting. During marinating the citrus both flavours and tenderises the chicken.

Nigella does suggest a combination of regular oranges and lemons if Seville oranges are out of season or unavailable. We would prefer to use this alternative to a marmalade. Marmalade won't have the same acidity and it is the acid that helps to tenderise the chicken. These acid juices also mellow in the heat of the oven, giving a delicious sauce. Marmalade (even home-made) is quite high in sugar and this will cause the chicken to brown too quickly in the oven. The sugar will caramelise quickly in the hot oven and the chicken will be brown on the outside but undercooked inside. By the time the chicken has cooked it is likely that the sugars will have burnt and will start to taste bitter, as well as making the baking tray difficult to clean.