Recipe: Orange, Olive, and Onion Salad (Slata Bortokal Bil Zaytoun)

ORANGE, OLIVE, AND ONION SALAD
(SLATA BORTOKAL BIL ZAYTOUN)

"Bitter oranges - Seville oranges - are commonly used in Morocco, but this salad is also good with sweets ones. This recipe is adapted from the original. For a variation, instead of lemon juice, add a whole lemon that has been peeled and cut into small pieces."

4 oranges
16 black olives, seed removed
1 large mild red onion, finely chopped
FOR THE DRESSING:
Juice of 1/2 to 1 lemon
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
Pinch pf ground chili pepper
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley (for garnish)

Peel oranges, removing pith. Cut them into thick slices then into quarters with a fine serrated knife. Put them on a flat serving plate with the olives and chopped onion on top.

Make a dressing with a mixture of lemon juice, olive oil, salt, cumin, paprika and chili pepper and pour of the salad. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Serve as a first course with a fish, fowl or lamb entree.

Servings: 6
From: Arabesque: A Taste of Morocco, Turkey and Lebanon by Claudia Roden
Adapted from source: Ellen Sweets; The Denver Post, December 5, 2006