Carrot and blood orange salad
“A colourful spread of simple, salady appetisers encourages the digestive juices to flow.”
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
- 2 blood oranges
- handful of black olives
Dressing
- sea salt
- pepper
- 1 tsp honey
- few drops orange-flower water
- juice of 1/2 a lemon
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
One of the simplest ways to welcome guests for a spring or summer lunch party is to arrange simple, salady things with an eye to colour and texture, and encourage grazing while the barbecue is heating up. The combinations are truly endless.
Method
Combine all dressing ingredients in a salad bowl and mix to dissolve the honey.
Cut a slice from each end of the blood oranges and, with a sharp knife, carve the peel from the flesh.
Holding the orange cradled in your left hand, slide the knife down one side of the membrane of an orange segment, and then the other side of the segment. Drop the freed segment into the bowl and continue until all orange segments are in the bowl. Squeeze the orange "skeleton" over the bowl. Repeat with second orange. Add the grated carrot and mix.
Taste and adjust the balance of the salad with either more orange-flower water (it should be subtle) or more olive oil. Transfer to a flattish dish and put black olives around the edges.
