Chocolate Candied Blood Orange Slices

Blood oranges are gorgeous, and when years back my local eco store started selling the Italian Sanguinello, I was absolutely thrilled. Ever since, they've been a regular fixture in my kitchen. I'm a simple soul and like them because they're beautiful - and because blood orange juice is an awesome colour.

This time I felt like something a little different and made candy out of them. Not the healthiest choice, I know... #sorrynotsorry

Ingredients (makes about 26 slices):
1 cup (250 ml) water
2 cups (400 g) granulated white sugar
2 blood oranges (or 1 blood orange, and one regular orange, for some diversity in flavour)
200g dark chocolate
Optional: a few tablespoons sugar to coat the finished slices

Instructions:
1. Scrub the oranges under luke-warm water, then cut them in half horizontally. Cut into thin round slices, then cut these in half to make orange half moons.

2. Bring the sugar/water to a boil in a wide-bottomed pan, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Turn the heat to low and add the orange slices. They should be single layer, and submersed in water. Simmer for about 1 hour, pushing the slices down every now and then if they float. Halfway through, turn them over gently. Don't stir - you don't want the slices coming apart.

3. When done, the peel will be soft and translucent. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the slices onto a cooling rack to let them dry. Make sure you have paper towels or something underneath, because the syrup will leak down through the rack.

4. I've read that candied orange slices need 24 hours to dry at room temperature, but honestly, I didn't have the patience. Instead, I let mine dry overnight, and then moved straight to the chocolate dipping.

5. Melt the chocolate au bain marie, stirring while it is melting to make sure you get an even, chunk-free mixture. Remove from heat and dip each orange slice 3/4 of the way in chocolate. If the chocolate gets too thick, reheat a little and continue

6. After dipping, transfer each orange slice onto a waxed paper cookie sheet to let them dry - another half hour or so should do the trick. Don't stack them, or they will stick to each other. After the chocolate has dried, you can dip the remaining halves in sugar to make them less sticky. Or not. I was so enthralled by the colour I couldn't bear to cover it up completely, so I left mine the way they were.