Civil War Green Olive and Orange Salad with Cumin
Every year in Oregon the Ducks and the Beavers gather in either Corvallis or Eugene to duke it out in their annual Civil War football game. This generates as much community hoopla as the Kentucky Derby in Louisville, the Preakness in Baltimore or the University of Texas vs Texas A & M. This year is highly charged as the winners will play in The Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day — pretty high stakes!
I have managed to escape personal injury and public shame over my post on Duck Legs Braised in Pinot Noir and a days-gone-by holiday dinner of Grilled Roast Beaver. I would like to make amends by offering this simple vegetarian salad that allows the Beavers’ orange and the Ducks’ green to mingle together peacefully if only until the dish is gobbled up.
Civil War Green Olive and Orange Salad with Cumin
This ultra-simple recipe is of Mediterranean origin. I found it in Supper Club Chez Martha Rose, one of my favorite cookbooks by Martha Rose Shulman. Martha says she was served this at one of her pilgrimages to Domaine Tempier in Bandol, France where Lulu Peyraud served this up for the helpers during the annual grape harvest.
Green Olive and Orange Salad with Cumin
Adapted from a recipe in Supper Club Chez Martha Rose by Martha Rose Shulman
The original recipe calls for black olives.
- 8 navel oranges, peeled and sectioned
- 3/4 cup (85 g) imported, pitted green olives, halved
- 1 red onion, very thinly sliced
- Juice of 1 medium-sized lemon
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon (2.5-5 ml.) ground cumin or to taste
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml.) extra virgin olive oil
- Section the oranges by cutting off the polar ends then cutting off the peel from top to bottom. Here’s a wonderful pictorial demonstration by Helen Rennie, author of the Beyond Salmon blog.
- Mix all together in a large bowl and taste for any correction to seasonings. I told you this was easy.
Bon appétit
— Charles
This looks like a great salad. GO DUCKS!
Love the colors and flavors of that salad!
The olives are Castelvetrano Sicilian Green Olives that I found at Roth’s in Salem. They are delicious!
They are imported by Divina. According to my research: “Grown in Castelvetrano, Sicily , these distinctive bright green olives have a meaty buttery texture and a superb mild flavor. These olives make former non olive eaters real believers.”
http://www.alescifoods.com/products/455
One of my favourite salads! Thanks for reminding me to make it again.