High on nearly everybody’s wish list of culinary destinations is Provence. Throw this salad together and serve it with an authentic baguette from the Bonjour bakery on Falls Road, and save yourself the cost of an airline ticket. Don’t forget a chilled bottle of rosé, mon ami!
6 blood oranges, peeled and sliced (available seasonally at gourmet food markets)
6 navel oranges, peeled and sliced (seedless Valencia if you can manage)
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced into rings
3/4 cup diced niçoise olives
1/2 cup fresh basil chiffonade
1 medium fennel bulb, shaved
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and black pepper to taste
To make basil chiffonade: Stack several large basil leaves on top of each other. Starting at one end, tightly roll leaves together to form a cylinder. Using a large knife, slice crosswise into thin ribbons.
Line a salad plate with a thin layer of shaved fennel, then alternate orange slices (4 or 5 of each) on top. Lay 5 to 6 rings of the onion over the oranges and then sprinkle on the basil and chopped olives. Season to taste and drizzle with the olive oil. Serves 6.
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