Simple Orange Salad

This is a wonderful palate cleansing salad served before a rich entree in winter.

Ingredients:
6 oranges, preferably Cara Cara
3 T olive oil
2 teaspoons champagne vinegar

freshly ground black pepper (in a mill)

Maldon sea salt or Diamond Crystal kosher salt

Preparing the salad:
Use a sharp knife to slice off the ends of the oranges. Set the oranges, one at a time, on a work surface and use a sharp knife to remove the peel and pith, cutting from one end to the other and following the curve of the fruit. Continue until all the oranges are peeled.

Set a serving plate nearby.

Cut each peeled orange into 1/4-inch thick rounds, removing any seeds that you see. Set each sliced orange on the plate before you peel the next one, so that juices will collect on the plate, not the cutting surface.

When all of the oranges have been cut, arrange the slices in concentric circles, overlapping them slightly. Drizzle the oil over the oranges and sprinkle the vinegar on top. Let rest for 20 to 30 minutes.

To serve, season with several generous turns of black pepper and sprinkle with salt. Serve immediately.

Serves 4

Variations:

Scatter about 1/4 cup of fresh pomegranate seeds on top after seasoning with salt.

Use a vegetable peeler to make about a dozen or so curls of either Parmigiano-Reggiano or Vella Dry Jack. Scatter over the oranges after seasoning with salt.

Remove the pits of a dozen or so olives, either green picholine or oil-cured black, cut them in half lengthwise and scatter over the oranges after seasoning with salt.

Assemble this salad, using any or all of the variations, on individual plates.