Although
this sweet orange and date salad may sound like a starter or a
side dish, it is actually a typical dessert from Morocco that
is served after lunch, but it doesn't matter if you prefer to eat it
before or after the main course. The point is that this orange and date
salad is delicious. It's a really clean, fresh-tasting salad and is
often served before a filling dish. It also makes an excellent side dish
with Moroccan couscous and nut pilaf.
Fresh dates are usually used in this authentic recipe, but I simply
added a lower volume of dried dates. For an interesting variation, you
can replace the dates with a similar quantity of prunes or raisins.
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: None
Serves: 2
Ingredients:
3 large thin skinned oranges, peeled and pith removed
juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon of sugar
pinch of salt
6-8 Cos lettuce leaves, or 2 handfuls of mixed salad leaves, such as rocket and corn salad leaves
50g fresh dates (weighed after they are stoned), chopped
25g blanched almonds
ground cinnamon
Instructions:
1. Cut out the orange flesh from between the segment membranes, retaining the juice.
2. Mix the retained orange juice with the lemon juice, sugar and salt.
3.
Tear the cos lettuce leaves into pieces and carefully toss with the
orange segments. Spoon into a bowl and pour over the dressing.
4. Scatter the dates and almonds over the salad and then sprinkle with a little ground cinnamon. Serve at once.