While this is called an orange salad, it’s actually all about the olives. Home-cured olives are treated with the utmost respect and are a prize delicacy in Greek homes. A unadorned plate of home-cured olives is a favoured meze, offered to visiting friends along with something to drink. They are used rarely in cooking, except as an addition to salads. In summer they adorn the traditional ‘horiatiko’ salad of ripe tomatoes and crunchy cucumbers. However, in cardigan season they become the principal ingredient in this salad. A perfect mix of sweet and sharp oranges, salty slightly bitter olives and crispy red onion all bound together in extra virgin olive oil. This salad stands alone as a snack or a lunch with good bread, fresh mizithra cheese and perhaps a coffee after.
Olive and orange salad
Ingredients
- 2 large oranges
- 1 small red onion
- 1/2 tea cup olives
- Salt
- 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- Handful fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
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Cut the base from the oranges so they sit flat, then pare away the skin and pith. Cut each orange into round slices.
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Peel and finely slice the onion into rounds. If you want a milder flavour, soak the slices in boiling water for a few seconds and then drain immediately. Don’t leave to long in the hot water or they will loose their crunch.
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In a bowl, mix the orange, olives and onion together, sprinkle with salt, pour over the oil, sprinkle over the parsley, toss again and serve.
Recipe Notes
Good quality shop bought olives are a good substitute for home cured olives. If you can find the fleshy, bitter olives from Mitilini, I would highly recommend them.
