La Zucca Magica’s Orange and Olive Salad

The combination of sweet, juicy, tart (and cold) orange and bitter, fatty, slightly warmer tapenade is fantastic. Don’t omit the fennel seeds, which add another dimension of flavor and texture — just super. And by all means use the common navel orange — it’s in season, and it seems, to me, just perfect.

Ingredients

• 1 cup good oil-cured black olives, pitted
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (optional)
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, more as needed
• 4 navel oranges, peeled and sliced into rounds
• Fennel seeds

4 servings

Preparation

1. In a food processor, combine olives and thyme, if using, with a bit of olive oil. Pulse machine once or twice, then turn it on and add remaining olive oil rather quickly; you want this purée on the rough side. Thin with more olive oil if necessary. (You can refrigerate this for up to a month.)
2. Layer 3 or 4 orange slices on each plate, drizzle with a little more olive oil, top with a tablespoon of olive purée and sprinkle with a few fennel seeds. Serve.

20 minutes