Nerantzosalata - The Orange at the Firelight

In Corfu, nerantzosalata (orange salad) is more than a local dish — it’s part of the island’s quiet grammar of taste. In our house, it was never just a salad; it was a complete evening meal, a ritual of the cold winter months. My father would peel a bright, heavy orange, slice it into thick rounds, and lay them on a plate — nothing else yet, just the color and the scent.

He would drizzle fresh olive oil, dust it with sweet paprika, and finish with coarse salt. Then came the charred bread from the hearth, cut thick and ready to soak up whatever remained on the plate.

The secret of a good nerantzosalata lies in the moment when everything comes together - when the orange juice, olive oil, paprika, and salt merge into one.

It’s not just a combination of ingredients, but a small transformation: acidity softens, bitterness warms, and the flavors settle into quiet harmony. That’s when the simple becomes complete.

Ingredients

• one juicy orange (sweet)

• Extra virgin olive oil

• Sweet paprika

• Coarse sea salt

• Fresh bread, charred or toasted

  
  

Preparation

1. Peel the orange and slice it into thick, even rounds.

2. Arrange them on a plate, slightly overlapping.

3. Drizzle generously with olive oil.

4. Add sweet paprika and coarse salt.

5. Let it rest for a minute, until the juices mix with the oil and color deepens.

6. Serve with bread to soak in the mixture - the best part of all.

   
   

It fills you differently — not with abundance, but with balance. The sweetness, the salt, the warmth of oil and bread: simple food that feels honest - and that’s enough. It’s a kind of cucina povera that makes you full without needing more.