Moroccan Blood Orange Salad

This wonderfully vibrant blood orange salad is as tasty as it is colourful. An amazing combination of Moroccan inspired sweet and savoury flavours that pair perfectly with so many dishes.

Experience the vibrant tapestry of Moroccan flavours, where spices pair harmoniously with savoury and sweet notes. From the aromatic cumin and coriander to the tang of preserved lemons and dried fruits, discover heart of North African cuisine.

This splendid side dish can be a wonderful and vibrant addition at any dinner table. Like many Mediterranean and North African dishes, sweet and savoury play a huge part in their offerings. Fruit both fresh and preserved feature in many dishes and none are more delicious than sweet, tangy blood oranges.

In this simple salad I pair them with salty olives, sharp, sweet red onion and fragrant herbs. The dish is a brilliant little side dist to sit alongside tagines, grilled meat or seafood or just alongside other vegetable dishes from North Africa or the Med. Simple, versatile and quick to pull together - a winning combination!

What's Ahead?

Why it works?

It's quick, easy and versatile - when it's blood orange season, I make sure to prepare this dish as much as I can because it's so easy and speedy to put together. The sweet and savoury are great alongside pretty much anything and everything from North Africa, The Middle East and Mediterranean. That's a lot of food to pair this salad with!

Stuff You'll Need

My blood orange salad takes its inspiration from Moroccan cuisine, but there's nothing unusual you'll have to hunt out. Blood oranges are used in the recipe, but you can absolutely switch those out for regular oranges.

• Blood Oranges - they come in all different hues from speckled to dark purple. They're typically a little tangier or sharper than a regular orange, but you can also substitute for any kind of orange for this recipe.
• Black Olives - The slightly salty, sweet and fruity undertones of black olives counterbalance perfectly with oranges. You can sue green olives too if they're more your scene.
• Red onion - the lightly sweet, acidic and sharp flavours of red onion compliment the other flavours perfectly.
• Herbs - parsley and mint are grassy and fragrant. Mint especially blends well with the oranges and olives.
• Dressing - a simple whisking together of olive oil, lemon juice, cumin, salt and pepper is all you need to bring out all the flavour of everything.

Step by Step

There's nothing to this salad really. It's a task of arranging nicely on a platter, and really if you have blood oranges, they display themselves rather beautifully no matter how 'bloody' they are.

1. Step 1 - Cut odd the top and bottom of a blood orange and then cut downwards around the orange to remove the skin and pith. You can either segment the orange or cut into thin slices.
2. Step 2 - Carefully combine the oranges, onion, olives and herbs in a bowl.
3. Step 3 - whisk together the extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, cumin and seasoning and pour over the salad.
4. Step 4 - arrange the salad in one layer on a platter and serve.

Serving & Storage Suggestions

Serve cold or at room temperature. You can make up to a day in advance and refrigerate (covered in plastic wrap) and serve straight from the fridge or brought up to room temperature for 1 hour.

I like to serve mine with a few other vegetable dishes in the North African or Mediterranean vein. There's a few suggestions of good partnerships below. The salad will also pair well with grilled or stewed meats and seafood.

• Fridge: The salad will stay fresh for 4-5 days in the fridge, well covered.
• Freezer: Not suitable for freezing.

Additions

I sometimes add a few extras to this salad to create different flavour combinations.

• Cheese - I'll often crumble over a little sharp feta cheese
• Nuts & seeds - Sesame, walnuts, almonds, pistachio or pumpkin seeds add a great textural crunch to the salad.
• Other - sometimes I'll add warm salad potatoes or pumpkin, cooked broad beans or a little grated raw carrot. On occasion I've also added soaked, plump sultanas or dried apricot too.

Ready to get started?

No cooking required! Assembly only - now that's my favourite kind of food! This salad is a super-easy and speedy little dish to have up your sleeve, so next time you see blood oranges available where you live, be sure to snap up a few with this in mind.

The sweet and savoury combination is a surprising dream partnership. Try it with roast lamb or chicken for a taste sensation and beautiful balance of freshness. I LOVE this blood orange salad so much! I hope you enjoy!

More Moroccan and Mediterranean recipes

If you liked my blood orange salad recipe, I'm sure you'll love some more of my Med-style and Moroccan recipes too.

• Moroccan Fava Bean Dip with Mint & Harissa (Bessara)
• Moroccan Matbucha – Tomato & Pepper Salad
• Moroccan Carrot Salad
• Moroccan Silverbeet with Rice
• Roasted Cauliflower Couscous
• Chraime Sauce with Fish
• Moroccan Kefta Tagine
• Pilpelchuma with Sweet Potatoes
• Israeli Couscous with Beetroot
  
• Tomato & Feta Salad
  
• Roasted Carrots with Tahini Sauce
  
• Greek Lentil Salad

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