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This Blood Orange and Black Olive Salad is my new favourite side dish to bring a bit of colour to winter eating. Blood oranges are layered up with torn black olives, fresh parsley and a vibrant lemon and red onion dressing for an Italian-style salad delicious served alongside white fish or grilled chicken.
It’s inspired by a Moroccan orange and olive salad in Leah Koenig’s The Jewish Cookbookad which I’ve adapted to suit seasonal blood oranges, and to use fennel seeds instead of ground cumin, because whilst the original recipe was delicious, I think the fennel seeds not only bring a beautiful perfume, but also make the salad more versatile when you’re thinking about what to serve with it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use regular oranges to make this salad instead?
Yes, at other times of year use 4 Navel oranges in place of the 6 blood oranges (they’re a smaller variety). They have a slightly different flavour, but will still pair well with all the other ingredients.
How do I peel the oranges to get nice slices?
This is a really helpful guide which uses actual step-by-step photos. Is it just me if I want to get the general idea if I can manage something or not a video is fine, but if I want to learn a skill at my own pace, not the speed of a video, detailed photos are so much easier to follow??
What sort of olives should I use for this blood orange and black olive salad?
You want the wrinkly ones in a jar that is not full of brine for the best flavour. These usually come with the stones still in them so you’ll need to remove them as you chop the olives for this recipe. You can use the rest of the jar in my Sicilian Fennel and Orange Salad recipe, or just snack on them as they tend to be a much better quality than the ones in brine. If you can only find the ones in brine they will however work here, as will good quality green or purple olives, in a pinch.
Can I make this salad ahead?
I’d assemble the salad just before eating, but you can make the dressing up to a day in advance and store it in the fridge.
Is this blood orange salad vegan friendly?
No, because there is honey in the dressing but that can easily be switched out for maple syrup if needed.
This easy, vibrant Blood Orange and Black Olive Salad is ready in just 20 minutes, drizzled with a more-ish lemon, fennel and red onion dressing. Serve it alongside grilled fish or chicken!
Ingredients
Scale
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
zest 1/2 lemon + 1/2 tbsp juice
1/2 tbsp runny honey
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1 very small garlic clove
large pinch flaky sea salt
1/2 very small or 1/4 regular red onion
4 blood oranges
50g good quality black olives, not packed in brine
handful flat leaf parsley, chopped
Instructions
To make the dressing, toast the fennel seeds in a small saucepan, then place them in a small bowl. Add the olive oil, lemon zest and juice, honey, the garlic clove (peeled and crushed) and a large pinch of flaky sea salt. Whisk, then finely dice the red onion before stirring that in too.
Slice the peel off the oranges (I’ve linked to a really helpful tutorial in the post above!) and cut them into thin slices before arranging them on a serving dish. They look their best if you let them slightly overlap, and mix up the oranges as some will be redder than others.
Cut the stones out of the olives and roughly chop them before scattering them over the oranges, followed by the parsley. Drizzle over the prepared dressing, and serve.
Notes
The dressing needs a little salt to season it, but don’t be tempted to scatter salt over the salad as there is enough saltiness in the olives already!
I'm a food writer, professional recipe developer and cookbook author living in the English Countryside. I love creating easy, accessable recipes filled with vibrant world flavours that are manageable on busy weeknights. Simple and delicious dinners, from my kitchen to yours!
One Pan Pescatarian: 100 Delicious Dinners – Veggie, Vegan, Fish
My second cookbook contains 100 delicious dinner recipes, all of which are either vegetarian, vegan or which celebrate fish and seafood - all cooked in either one pot or one pan.*
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