Orange Salad - 2 Ways for Two for Tuesdays

So pretty, it qualifies as food porn...


But wait... How about this slightly different version...

But first, here's the story of Two for Tuesdays, "REAL FOOD"

2 for Tuesday... Never heard of it???  Well, until a while ago, I hadn't either.  For all the details, check out Girlichef's original post (Click HERE).

But if you are too lazy to hit the connection, here's a quote from her post about just what 2 for Tuesday is all about...

Each Tuesday we celebrate Two for Tuesdays! Blog Hop Carnival.  Two for Tuesdays is the brainchild of Alex from A Moderate Life.  It began on her site as a day to link up one (or two) of your blog posts that featured REAL FOOD.  Recipes, anecdotes, stories, photos, reviews...anything your blogged about featuring REAL food.  What is REAL food, you ask?  Think: slow food, traditional food, hand-prepared food, nourishing food...food that is NOT processed....food that doesn't come from a package...food that your great-grandmother would have made &/or eaten.  REAL food is homemade. REAL food is from scratch.  REAL food has recognizable ingredients.  REAL food is made from traditional ingredients.  REAL food is food you make with your own hands...from food grown, milled, raised by you or by people (not machines).  Think family farmer.  Think farmer's market.  Think garden.  Think local grain mill.  Think REAL.

Real food is near and dear to my heart.  Making real food a habit is something I have been trying to work on for a year.

And the work continues... For you new visitors, I love bloggers.  Most of the recipes I cook from (and adapt) are from blog posts, as opposed to cookbooks.  I just like seeing what real people make, seeing the process of a meal, vs a recipe from a book or magazine.  If someone I read often brags on it, I will take it seriously.


So when I saw this dish that Larry from BIG DUDE's ECLECTIC RAMBLINGS, I was pretty sure I was going to give it a shot.  Larry had first seen the recipe at the Tennessee Blogger get together he hosted recently.  Sam of MY CAROLINA KITCHEN contributed this dish to the party.  If this is the type of dish that someone would bring to a party f fellow food bloggers (you just know they are going to write about you), it is the type of dish that must taste just as good as it looks and sounds...


It does!


Click HERE to see and read of Larry's attempt.


Here's a brief version of the recipe Larry made...

for 6 people, we used 4 small naval oranges and a whole vinaigrette recipe. We sliced the oranges about ¼” thick and made the dressing per her directions:

3 Tbsp EVOO
1 Tbsp Red wine vinegar
Finely chopped garlic (we ran 1 clove thru the garlic press)
Dash Hungarian paprika
S&P to taste (we did about 4 grinds of pepper and a pinch of salt)

Click HERE to see and read what I believe is Sam's original post on the salad.


Here's the brief version of the recipe Sam made...

It’s a hastily made, colorful salad of thinly sliced oranges and black Kalamata olives dressed in vinaigrette and sprinkled with fresh Italian parsley and fresh rosemary and slivered red onions. You can also use blood oranges, which make it even more beautiful. I found this recipe in one of Pierre Franey’s 60-Minute Gourmet cookbooks many years ago.

I toss thinly sliced oranges in a bowl with vinaigrette of one part red wine vinegar to three parts extra virgin olive oil seasoned with minced garlic, some Hungarian paprika and salt and pepper to taste and dress as above. You can leave out the black olives or the rosemary if you wish. I’m a big fan of rosemary, as you know, so I use it whenever I can.

And click HERE to see all the food that other's brought to the party (so jealous, any St Thomas foodie bloggers out there I don't know about???)


And just keep scrolling to see what I did...


My first attempt, I followed the recipe as best I could (or was willing to do).  Continuing my ongoing frustration with island shopping, I was not able to find quality black olives.  Actually, that is not true.  What I could not find were quality olives at an affordable price.  A small jar of black kalamata olives was $12.  A small jar of sliced green olives and pimentos was only $1.  I suspect that that is the reason I was not terribly thrilled with the dish as a whole...

The individual parts...


The vinaigrette was terrific.  the combination of the sweet oranges, the savory of the garlic and the dressing really made the oranges sing.  It flavored the onions well and we liked them.  The olives and pimentos were very drab.  I am going to chalk that up to the poor quality of the ingredients, and not the recipe.  I love olives.  These had no taste whatsoever, and contributed nothing to the recipe.


But the oranges were so good, I wanted to get it "right".  At least right for Jackie and I.  So, I pondered what I liked about the recipe.  The simple garlic vinaigrette was terrific, and the oranges were beyond terrific.  I knew I wanted to keep those.  I pondered the olive situation.  What I really wanted to add were Blue Cheese stuffed olives.  Sigh, again, available, but beyond what I was willing to spend.  But the blue cheese is available.  Finally, I decided to do as the Big Dude advised and add some greens.  My greens of choice is almost always spinach...

This is now a new favorite!  Made it a second time last week, and planning to make it again (this time, i am going to add some walnuts).  Will hang onto the original recipe for when I get back to Kansas.  We have an amazing Italian grocery that has barrels of fabulous olives available for about $5 a pound.  Will try with better ingredients.


In the mean time, this is a keeper.  REAL FOOD, colorful, full of different tastes and well worth considering next time I am asked to bring a salad


Fast, simple, but spectacular looking and spectacular tasting!


Thanks Dude, Thanks Sam, great recipe