Moroccan Chopped Salad with Oranges, Dates and Fresh Herbs: Moroccan Series, #1
Moroccan Chopped Salad with Oranges, Dates and Fresh Herbs
Serendipity is an amazing thing! I had been planning a series of recipes based on one of my all time favourite cuisines, Moroccan, when I discovered that my neighbourhood kitchen store, Posh Pantry, was offering classes in it! Yes! Well, what an inspiration this course turned out to be. I came away all fired up, ready to cook and my head bursting with ideas and images. It’s amazing what a few hours of watching a pro cook, can do for you! You see, this was one of these luxurious cooking classes where the only time you lift a finger is to lick the last morsel of some divine dish that the chef has just demonstrated and serve up for you! When our chef, Glynes Morgan (co-author of “The Girls Who Dish! series), plated up this salad, I knew I would have to put it on my blog! Everything about it was crying out to be blogged about – the colours, the texture, the fragrance blast of fresh oranges, tomatoes, fennel and fresh herbs! I dearly wish somebody would invent scratch-and-sniff for bloggers!! But I guess I am doing the next best thing by sharing the recipe and pics with you right now!
So here is the start of my Moroccan series. This recipe comes to you courtesy of Chef Glynes Morgan. I have only adjusted the quantity of a few ingredients, as the recipe makes a really big salad. You can make the salad on one big platter or on individual plates. You don’t have to style it like did for the photographs; it still looks beautiful and your dinner guests will be so impressed! I hope you love it as much as I do!
Moroccan Chopped Salad with Oranges, Dates and Fresh Herbs
Ingredients:
4 tomatoes quartered and chopped or 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 English cucumber, chopped
1 medium white onion, slivered into julienne strips
3 – 4 oranges, peeled and sliced into rounds (you can use a combination of regular oranges and blood oranges)
8 – 12 Medjool dates, pitted and sliced
½ cup each torn mint and basil leaves
½ cup parsley, coarsely chopped, stems removed
½ cup cilantro, coarsely chopped, stems removed
Optional:
Sliced black olives
Thinly sliced fennel
Crumbled feta cheese
Dressing:
½ cup olive oil
¼ cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons minced fresh oregano or 2 teaspoons dried oregano
¼ teaspoon smoked hot paprika
1 teaspoon sea salt
freshly ground pepper
Method:
Whisk the ingredients for the dressing together by hand or in the blender. Set aside.
To assemble the salad:
Arrange orange slices on a serving platter.
If using fennel, place on top of oranges.
Combine the chopped cucumber, tomato and onion with some of the dressing and place on top of the fennel.
Sprinkle with the chopped dates and any optional ingredients.
Top with more dressing and sprinkle with fresh, chopped herbs.
Serve as a first course or as a light lunch accompanied by some grilled chicken or kabobs.
Moroccan Chopped Salad with Oranges, Dates and Fresh Herbs
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15 Responses to “Moroccan Chopped Salad with Oranges, Dates and Fresh Herbs: Moroccan Series, #1”
The colors of this salad are absolutely gorgeous…and not only do the ingredients LOOK pretty together, they’re perfect for each other in flavor as well!! Talk about flavors popping with every bite…Printing this recipe as I’m typing.. 🙂
So glad to hear this recipe hooked you as much as me! You’re right, very bite is an explosion of flavour. If you get a chance to make it, let me know what you think. Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! Cheers.
Omg, what a unique salad with many colourful ingredients. It looks more like a piece of art. I would spend more time admiring than eating it. Thanks so much for sharing!
Hey Liz, thanks so much for the lovely compliment! But it’s art that tastes good 🙂 Have a great week!
This is a beautiful salad! I love all the colors!
Well, thanks so much! That is very kind of you to take the time to make a comment!
What a beautiful looking dish and such a great variety of ingredients – it’s making my mouth water just looking at it!
So happy I could make something that makes you hungry!!Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting!!
Such a beautifully presented salad!
Well, thanks so much! I really appreciate it. Don’t you find that fruits and vegetables are just crying out to be turned into art?
absolutely!
Sounds and looks good!
Well, thank-you! I really appreciate your comment!
This salad looks so appetizing and healthy as well. I like that there’s honey in the salad dressing. Feta, cilantro, fennel…all my favorites. Seems like a good salad to have for lunch on a hot summer day. The photo is great. 🙂
Thanks so much, Carol!