I was inundated with recipe requests when I took this salad to a dinner party recently. It features incredible extra virgin olive oil plus an ingredient you might not be familiar with—guindilla peppers. These small slender peppers, typically sold pickled, hail from Basque country. Find them in the international section of your supermarket or online. (Another option: Substitute pickled banana peppers.) Guindilla peppers are also great on charcuterie boards, as a tapa, or in martinis or Bloody Marys.
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 1 large navel orange
- 6 loosely packed cups of mixed tender greens, such as arugula, baby kale or spinach, romaine hearts, etc.
- 12 Castelvetrano olives, pitted and halved
- 1/4 cup Marcona almonds, coarsely chopped
- 8 pickled guindilla peppers (optional)
For the vinaigrette:
- 1 shallot, peeled and finely diced
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, or more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon pimentón or sweet paprika, depending on taste
- 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar, preferably Pedro Ximénez
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 tablespoon olive brine or water
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Directions
Step 1
With a small sharp knife, slice the top and bottom off the orange. Using downward strokes and following the curve of the fruit, slice off the rind and white pith. Working over a shallow bowl, slice between the thin membranes, releasing wedges of the fruit. (These peeled segments are called supremes.) Squeeze the membranes over a small bowl to release any remaining juice. Set the fruit and juice aside.
Step 2
Make the vinaigrette: Add the shallot, salt, black pepper, pimentón, vinegar, honey, and olive brine to a small bowl. Let sit for 5 minutes. Whisk in the mustard, olive oil, and the reserved juice from the orange until emulsified. Taste, adjusting any of the ingredients as needed. If the vinaigrette separates, whisk again before using.
Step 3
Place the greens in a large shallow bowl. Just before serving, drizzle with half the vinaigrette and toss gently. Top with the orange supremes, olives, almonds, and guindilla peppers, if using. Drizzle with the remaining vinaigrette.
Serves 6