Orange and Onion Salad

Orange and Onion Salad
with Cumin Vinaigrette

Serves 4 to 6 as a first course

In Morocco and Algeria, they make this salad of brilliant colors with the mysterious background flavor of cumin. This and prosciutto with melon or figs are virtually the only primarily fruit first courses I tolerate, let alone like. It is a marvelous meal introduction on a gray winter night, bringing hints of warmth and tropical vacations just when I need them most.

This salad is a pretty red when made with blood oranges.

Vinaigrette
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
(squeezed from the reserved ends of the oranges below)
1-1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon packed ground cumin

2 thin-skinned (juice) oranges, very thinly sliced
and seeds removed, ends reserved for juice
1-1/2 to 2 red onions, very thinly sliced
1/4 cup Niçoise olives

In a small bowl, mix the olive oil, orange juice, lemon juice, salt and cumin. Let stand for about 10 minutes to develop the flavors.

Meanwhile, arrange the orange and onion slices alternately and overlapping on a platter. Sprinkle the olives around. Pour the dressing over the oranges and onions.

Let marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving. From time to time, spoon some of the dressing that accumulates in the bottom of the platter over the slices.

Buy the Book

from:
Vegetable Love
Vegetables Delicious, Alone or with Pasta, Seafood, Poultry, Meat and More
by Barbara Kafka with Christopher Styler
Artisan Books
Hardcover, $35, 720 pages
ISBN: 1-57965-168-2
Recipe reprinted by permission.