Orange and Cucumber Salad
. . . and here we are in the salad section.
My first recipe to make is this Orange and Cucumber salad which I am told is a classic Sicilian preparation – Sicily being the source of some of Italy’s best citrus fruit. When I first looked at the recipe I wasn’t too sure about the combination of oranges, cucumbers, radishes, and mint. However, Marcella has rarely led us astray so off I went to the store to purchase my ingredients.
I decided to buy blood oranges for this salad – a) I like the colour, b) love the flavour, and c) they were form Italy (so much for reducing the environmental footprint of the food that appears on the dinner table – sigh).
This salad is quick to pull together. The various ingredients are cleaned, peeled, sliced, and layered on a platter (we made individual salads) just prior to serving. A simple dressing is all that is left – salt, olive oil, freshly squeezed lemon juice. The recipe calls for tossing the salad with the dressing but I decided to layer it for a more attractive presentation.
This was an amazing salad – the flavours really worked together and the taste was refreshing.
We first served this with a meal of slow roasted lamb shanks in a heavy red wine sauce – the salad being the perfect complement for such a heavy meal. I’ve made it a number of times since and we are never disappointed at the refreshing burst of flavour it brings to the table.
This sounds marvelous! And serving it with the lamb shanks was a perfect choice.
I’m so glad to see pics of these salads and the commentary. Even though I’ve had “Essentials” for years, it’s easy to overlook some of these gems.
I’m anxious to try this salad. Imagining all these flavors going off at once is making me salivate big time.
This looks gorgeous Jerry. My only concern is that you did not toss it with the dressing, but layered it for the presentation value. I only bring this up because I have had the privilege of observing Victor thoroughly tossing his salads. So much tossing in fact, that the first time I witnessed it, I thought he forgot he was doing it! The end result of this thorough tossing was a revelation to me. So now I toss thoroughly and remember that it takes “four persons (more PC than men, ha!) to make a salad”.
Victor thanks you for making the point, Susie, and for remembering.Tossing doesn’t fit in with the decorative aims of food presentation, but it is critical to flavor. And as much with pasta as it is with salads.