Insalata di arance

Sicily's blood orange salad: crimson Moro or Tarocco oranges with red onion, fennel, black olives, and the island's finest olive oil: the most beautiful salad in the world, made from four ingredients and genius

Origin: Sicily

From the journey of Orange.

Insalata di arance (orange salad) is one of the supreme expressions of Sicilian cuisine's core philosophy: the finest available ingredients, combined with intelligence rather than complexity. Sicily produces three of the world's most prized blood orange varieties (the Moro (deepest crimson flesh, intensely flavoured), the Tarocco (sweeter, with partial pigmentation), and the Sanguinello (the oldest, most variable)) all of which develop their characteristic deep red colour due to the island's unique combination of warm days and cool nights. These blood oranges, when sliced and dressed with the island's extraordinary olive oil, salt, and the sharpness of red onion and the anise freshness of fennel, produce a salad that is simultaneously a starter, a palate cleanser, and an argument for restraint in cooking. The black olive, cured Sicilian olive, never canned, provides a final note of bitter complexity. The salad has its roots in the Arab influence on Sicilian cooking of the 10th–12th centuries: the Arab tradition of combining fruit with salt, oil, and vegetables in salads is the direct precursor of this preparation.

Ingredients

Fruit

4 large blood oranges (Moro or Tarocco), or navel oranges if unavailable

Vegetables

1 small red onion, very thinly sliced into half-moons
0.5 small fennel bulb, very thinly sliced, fronds reserved

Olives

80 g Sicilian black olives, cured in brine (not canned, Nocellara or Castelvetrano)

Dressing

3 tbsp excellent Sicilian or Southern Italian extra virgin olive oil, this is the most important ingredient after the oranges

Seasoning

0.5 tsp flaky sea salt
0.25 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Optional

1 small handful rocket (arugula), optional, for peppery contrast
1 pinch dried chilli flakes (peperoncino), optional, for warmth

Method

Soak the sliced red onion in cold water for 10 minutes. Drain and pat dry. This removes the harsh raw onion flavour while preserving the crunch and colour.
Peel the oranges, removing all white pith. Slice into rounds about 5mm thick, working over a bowl to catch the juice. Reserve the juice.
Arrange the orange rounds on a serving platter (a wide, flat plate rather than a deep bowl). Scatter over the fennel slices, drained red onion, and olives.
Drizzle the reserved orange juice over the salad, followed by a generous pour of olive oil. Season with flaky salt and black pepper.
Scatter the fennel fronds and rocket if using. Add a pinch of chilli flakes if desired. Serve immediately.

Notes

The blood orange season in Sicily runs from December to March; outside this window, the best alternative is a navel orange of good quality. The Moro variety (the darkest, most intensely coloured blood orange) was developed in Sicily in the early 20th century through a natural mutation; it has the most dramatic appearance and the strongest flavour. The Tarocco, named for the game of tarot, is less pigmented but considered by many Sicilian growers to be the finest-tasting of the three varieties. Blood orange colour develops in response to cold nights: the anthocyanin pigments only form below about 9°C. Sicilian blood oranges grown on the slopes of Mount Etna, where volcanic soil and high-altitude cold nights produce ideal conditions, are considered the world's finest.

The Gastrographer

Name: Insalata di arance
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Sicily
Ingredients: 4 large blood oranges (Moro or Tarocco), or navel oranges if unavailable; 1 small red onion, very thinly sliced into half-moons; 0.5 small fennel bulb, very thinly sliced, fronds reserved; 80 g Sicilian black olives, cured in brine (not canned, Nocellara or Castelvetrano); 3 tbsp excellent Sicilian or Southern Italian extra virgin olive oil, this is the most important ingredient after the oranges; 0.5 tsp flaky sea salt; 0.25 tsp freshly ground black pepper; 1 small handful rocket (arugula), optional, for peppery contrast; 1 pinch dried chilli flakes (peperoncino), optional, for warmth

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control