Chef Zohra
Bakoula (بقولة)
Mallow greens cooked soft and dark with garlic, cumin, preserved lemon, and olives, the Moroccan cooked salad that tastes of spring rain and a loaf of khobz shared warm.
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Salade d'Oranges aux Olives
Created by
A winter Moroccan salad where sweet oranges meet black olives, olive oil, cumin, and paprika. Cold, bright, salty, and generous, it startles in the old way.
Salads
Moroccan
Special Occasion
Potluck
Comfort Food
20 min
Active Time
0 min cook•20 min total
Yield4 to 6 servings
When the oranges are heavy in the hand and their skin smells bright before you even cut it, this is the salad you make. Not in August. In winter, when citrus is full of juice and costs least because the market is telling the truth. Slice the fruit cleanly, catch the juice, and don't drown it. The olive oil should shine, not cover.
Citrus entered Morocco through medieval Islamic and Andalusi agronomy, with bitter orange established in the Maghreb by the 10th to 12th centuries and sweet oranges spreading later through Mediterranean trade. The pairing of oranges with olives belongs to the shared cold-salad register of Moroccan tables, especially in citrus regions such as Berkane, the Souss, and the old city markets of Fez and Marrakech. Its exact origin is not fixed, and that is honest: Muslim, Jewish-Moroccan, and regional city kitchens all kept versions of sweet fruit sharpened by salt, oil, and spice.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
sweet oranges
Quantity
5 large
peeled and sliced into rounds
Moroccan black olives
Quantity
80g
pitted if you like
extra-virgin olive oil
Quantity
3 tbsp
orange juice
Quantity
1 tbsp
caught from slicing
ground cumin
Quantity
1/2 tsp, or to taste
sweet paprika
Quantity
1/4 tsp
sea salt
Quantity
1 small pinch
fresh coriander leaves (optional)
Quantity
1 tbsp
chopped
orange blossom water (optional)
Quantity
1 tsp
used lightly
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| sweet orangespeeled and sliced into rounds | 5 large |
| Moroccan black olivespitted if you like | 80g |
| extra-virgin olive oil | 3 tbsp |
| orange juicecaught from slicing | 1 tbsp |
| ground cumin | 1/2 tsp, or to taste |
| sweet paprika | 1/4 tsp |
| sea salt | 1 small pinch |
| fresh coriander leaves (optional)chopped | 1 tbsp |
| orange blossom water (optional)used lightly | 1 tsp |
Equipment Needed
- •Wide serving platter
- •Small bowl for caught orange juice
- •Sharp paring knife
Instructions
- 1
Peel the oranges
Cut the top and bottom from each orange, then slice away the peel and white pith with a sharp knife. Work over a bowl so you catch the juice. The pith is bitter, and this salad has no sauce to hide it.
- 2
Slice and arrange
Cut the oranges into thin rounds, about the thickness of a coin, and lay them on a wide platter with a little overlap. Pour over the juice you caught, but leave behind any seeds.
- 3
Season by eye
Scatter the olives between the orange slices. Drizzle with olive oil, then dust with cumin, paprika, and a small pinch of salt. La balance est dans les yeux, the scale is in the eyes: the fruit should still taste like orange, with the spice waking it up.
- 4
Rest and serve
Let the salad sit for 10 minutes so the salt pulls a little juice from the oranges and the oil turns glossy around the edges. Add coriander and a few drops of orange blossom water only if your table likes it. Serve cool, with bread nearby for the last orange-salty oil on the platter.
Chef Tips
- •Use oranges in winter, when they are heavy, fragrant, and sweet. If the fruit is tired, make another salad today. No gesture rescues a sad orange.
- •Choose olives with real flavor, wrinkled black oil-cured olives or good Moroccan black olives in brine. Rinse them if they are very salty, then taste before adding more salt.
- •Orange blossom water is not perfume for the whole plate. A few drops can belong, especially in city kitchens, but too much and the salad leaves the table before the guests do.
Advance Preparation
- •Peel and slice the oranges up to 2 hours ahead, cover, and chill. Add olives, oil, and spices 10 to 20 minutes before serving so the salad stays bright.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 160g)
Calories
190 calories
Total Fat
11 g
Saturated Fat
2 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
9 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
240 mg
Total Carbohydrates
24 g
Dietary Fiber
5 g
Sugars
17 g
Protein
2 g
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