Is it a coincidence that citrus fruits, and the vitamin C they contain, are at their peak just at the time of year when we need them to help us combat winter colds?

Or could it be that just peeling and eating a sweet, juicy orange makes us feel better?

There are dozens of varieties of citrus, from the huge ugli fruit to the tiny kumquat. Uglis with their loose, rough and wrinkly skin, which are as easy to peel as tangerines, were quite popular for a time in England as I recall.

But beauty is only skin-deep – I just remember them as being sweet and very juicy.

Some citrus, like the knobbly citron, are grown for their peel. Bitter oranges, known to the English as Sevilles, are used both for their peel and juice, and they certainly make the best marmalade.

Limes crop up in Asian and Mexican dishes and are great in a gin and tonic. And, as for lemons, well, could you cook without them? I know I couldn’t.

I’ve been looking around for blood oranges, but haven’t seen any yet. One of the great classic sauces is sauce Maltaise, which is hollandaise, flavoured with the zest and juice of a blood orange. This is delicious poured over asparagus, but I gave up the search and used an ordinary orange instead. The flavour is still good, but obviously blood oranges would give a richer colour.

My recipe is for a quick-blender hollandaise, as I can’t be doing with all that, adding the butter bit by bit. And knowing that butter is off the menu for some people, I also tried it with Flora Buttery, one of those low-saturate spreads you can cook with, and it worked quite well.

Together with the sauce, one bundle of asparagus spears makes a perfect treat for two.

Another recipe using blood oranges is Moroccan lamb stew. Morocco, like Sicily and Malta, is famous for them, but again, ordinary oranges are fine.

Serve the stew with couscous or rice or, for an easy, one-pot meal, just add some small potatoes when the lamb is almost done.

After the heavy, traditional foods of Christmas, it’s nice to have a salad. Chicken, avocado and grapefruit with some assorted salad leaves and toasted pine nuts is a nice mixture.

I know grapefruit can be a problem for people taking certain drugs, in which case use oranges or tangerines instead – and, please, ignore the fact that I forgot the pine nuts in the photograph!

We’ve probably all eaten our fill of desserts and sweet treats over the last few weeks, but as we don’t have much to look forward to until Easter, chase away the winter blues with a piece of sweet, sticky, and scrumptious lemon shortcake. It’s best left in the fridge to firm up overnight – but I doubt if you’ll be able to leave it that long.

I have just found out from a Maltese friend whose husband is Sicilian that it’s a bit early for blood oranges here, although I could probably get them now in Sicily.

But I think a trip on the ferry for a few oranges is perhaps a bit over the top, don’t you?

Asparagus with sauce Maltaise

The purists would say you should cook asparagus standing upright in bundles in a specially designed pan so the stems simmer in water and the tips gently steam.

But I don’t have such a pan and nor, as I suspect, do most cooks, so a frying pan does for me!

(Serves 2)

Bundle of large fresh asparagus spears
110g butter or soft spread for cooking
2 large egg yolks
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp white wine vinegar
Salt and white pepper
1 tsp finely grated orange zest
4 tsp orange juice

Trim off and discard the bottom five centimentres of the asparagus, then using a potato peeler, lightly peel the stems. Rinse them and put them into a wide frying or sauté pan with a lid.

To make the sauce, slowly melt the butter in a small pan. Put the yolks, lemon juice, vinegar and a pinch of salt and white pepper into a blender or processor and liquidise for a few seconds then, with the motor running, add the hot butter in a thin steady stream. When the butter is incorporated, blend in the orange zest and juice. Transfer the sauce to a small bowl and keep it warm by standing the bowl over a pan of hot water while cooking the asparagus.

Add a large pinch of salt to the asparagus and pour over a kettle of boiling water. Cook until the asparagus tips are just tender when tested with the point of a sharp knife. Drain well and serve on warm plates with the sauce.

Lemon shortcake squares

75g butter
75g caster sugar
150g plain flour
Pinch of salt
4 egg yolks
1 can condensed milk
Grated rind of 1 lemon
150ml lemon juice
Icing sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven to 180˚C and line a 20-centimetre square baking tin with non-stick baking paper.

Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Sift in the flour and salt and work it together until it forms a dough. Press the dough over the bottom of the baking tin and about two centimetres up the sides. Prick it with a fork and bake for about 15 minutes until golden.

Beat the egg yolks, condensed milk, lemon rind and juice in a large bowl until smooth and pour it into the baking dish. Return the tin to the oven and bake for about 25 minutes or until the filling is set. Stand the tin on a rack and leave it until it is cold, then refrigerate for at least two hours until the filling is firm.

Remove the shortcake from the tin, dust it with icing sugar and cut it into squares to serve.

Chicken, avocado and grapefruit salad

(Serves 4)

3 pink grapefruit
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
4 chicken breast halves
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp cream
2 ripe avocados
1 small, long lettuce
2 handfuls rocket
2 tbsp toasted pine nuts

Grate the rind and squeeze the juice from one of the grapefruit, then whisk them together with a pinch of salt, a grind of pepper and three tablespoons of olive oil.

Put the chicken into a shallow baking dish, pour over the grapefruit mixture, cover with cling film and let it marinate for at least half an hour.

Preheat the oven to 190˚C. Put the baking dish in the oven and bake the chicken for about 30 minutes or until cooked through. Cover and keep warm.

In a screw-topped jar, shake together four tablespoons of olive oil, the vinegar, mustard, honey and cream. Season with salt and pepper and put to one side.

Remove the peel and pith from the remaining two grapefruit and cut them into segments. Halve, stone, peel and slice the avocados. Using only the heart of the lettuce, break it into bite-size pieces and toss it together with the rocket.

Put a handful of leaves on to each of four plates and divide the grapefruit segments and avocado slices between them.

Slice the chicken breasts and arrange them on top, drizzle with the dressing, sprinkle with pine nuts and serve.

Moroccan lamb and orange stew

(Serves 4 to 6)

1.5kg boneless lamb shoulder or leg slices
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp each ground cinnamon and allspice
½ tsp salt
Ground black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
2 medium onions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
2 tbsp honey
Grated rind and juice of one blood orange
2 tbsp chopped, fresh mint
2 blood oranges, peeled and segmented
1 sliced orange and mint for garnish

Cut the lamb into three-centimetre pieces. In a small bowl, mix the spices and salt, add a good grind of black pepper, then sprinkle it all over the meat and toss it together so that it’s well coated.

Heat the oil in a pan and brown the meat in batches, without crowding the pan, then transfer the lamb to a plate. Add the onions and fry until starting to soften. Stir in the garlic and ginger and fry for a minute more.

Return the meat to the pan, together with any juices that have collected on the plate, and add the honey, grated rind and juice of the orange and the mint.

Barely cover with water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for 90 minutes, when the lamb should be meltingly tender.

Stir in the orange segments and cook for two more minutes, then serve with couscous or rice and garnish with orange slices and mint.