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April 29, 2025

Danick's Orange and Olive Salad

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Orange Basil Olive

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My sisters-in-law and I often swap ideas for dishes, many of them made au pif — a French expression for cooking without a recipe, just trusting your instincts and pulling flavors together. This orange and olive salad was one of my sister-in-law Danick's creations.

At first, it didn’t appeal to me. I couldn’t quite picture oranges and olives together, though I love both. But when Danick said on s'est régalée — they absolutely loved it — I saved the idea, telling myself maybe I’d try it later.

Then one day I found myself needing a first course and had almost nothing on hand — no salad greens, no fresh vegetables — just a few oranges and my stash of French-cured black olives. It was time to give Danick’s dish a try.

And on s'est régalée too! Now it's a favorite. I've made it with and without shallots, and I often add basil for a pop of color and flavor. Here are two simple versions, with different dressings to choose from. Even if this dish isn’t your thing, remember: all you need to create a fabulous first course is a few of your favorite ingredients.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 large oranges, peeled and sliced into thin rounds
  • 6-8 black cured olives, pitted
  • Optional: basil leaves

Shallot vinaigrette dressing: (olive oil, vinegar, shallot, Dijon mustard, sea salt & pepper)

Or

Lemon dressing (olive oil, lemon juice, sea salt & pepper)

Instructions

Prepare the oranges:
Slice the peel from the oranges, removeing as much of the white pith as possible. Then, cut the oranges into rounds and arrange them on a plate.

Make the dressing: 

Make either a simple vinaigrette or lemon dressing.

Assemble the dish:
Drizzle the dressing over the orange slices. Add some black olives and/or some fresh basil. 

Serve:
Serve as a first course. 

IMG 5363 min

My sister-in-law's version, served in a bowl 

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I often cook "au pif," as we say in France, which means cooking without an exact recipe and by "feel" using your intuition.  You’ll find guidelines in many recipes versus exact quantities.  Write to me here if you have any questions about the recipes.

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