Orange Salad with Anchovies: A Taste of Andalusian Sunshine
There is a certain kind of morning light in Andalusia that makes even the simplest ingredients feel extraordinary. It settles softly over whitewashed villages, glints across tiled courtyards, and has a way of turning an everyday orange into something worth celebrating. This orange salad recipe with anchovies, long enjoyed along the Costa del Sol, captures that feeling perfectly—fresh, bright, and quietly elegant.
We first discovered this Andalusian orange salad in a small neighborhood market in Málaga, on a warm spring afternoon. One vendor was peeling oranges with the ease of long practice, while a fisherman arranged rows of gleaming anchovies nearby. When asked what locals usually make with these ingredients, he replied with a smile:
“Orange and anchovy. That’s all you need.”
It was a simple answer, but it explained everything. This Spanish orange salad relies on contrast: the sweetness of citrus, the subtle sharpness of sherry vinegar, and the briny depth of good anchovies. It is one of those rare dishes that feels luxurious without demanding much from the cook.
🍊 Authentic Andalusian Orange Salad with Anchovies
Ensalada de Naranja con Anchoas
Ingredients
- 2 large sweet oranges (Navel or Salustiana work beautifully)
- 8–10 anchovy fillets
- boquerones en vinagre for a lighter, fresher taste
- or salt-cured Cantabrian anchovies for something deeper and more intense
- ½ small red onion, very thinly sliced
- A handful of black olives (optional but traditional in Málaga-style salads)
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- Extra virgin olive oil (an Andalusian Hojiblanca or Arbequina is ideal)
- A splash of sherry vinegar
- Sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Our Favorite Recipe for Orange Salad with Anchovies
1. Prepare the oranges
Cut off the top and bottom of each orange. Slice down the sides to remove the peel and white pith, letting the juice fall onto the board. Then cut the fruit into neat rounds or segments and arrange them on a serving plate.
As the oranges release their juice, the air fills with that bright, almost sparkling citrus aroma. It always reminds us of the early days at La Esperanza Granada, when the gardeners would bring in baskets of freshly picked oranges from the trees near the pergola. We would pile them into a deep ceramic bowl on the kitchen counter, and the entire room would seem to breathe a little more deeply—sunshine in fruit form.
2. Build the salad
Scatter the thin slices of red onion over the oranges.
Lay the anchovy fillets gently on top—one per slice is a good balance if you want every bite to carry both sea and orchard.
Add the black olives if using, then finish with a sprinkle of chopped parsley for freshness and color.
3. Make the dressing
In a small bowl, whisk together:
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1–2 teaspoons sherry vinegar
- A spoonful of the fresh orange juice from the board
- A pinch of sea salt (if needed; many anchovies are already quite salty)
- Freshly ground black pepper
Drizzle the dressing over the salad, letting it pool slightly around the oranges and anchovies. Leave the plate to rest for about five minutes so the onions soften and the flavors begin to mingle.
How We Love to Serve Orange Salad with Anchovies
This salad belongs to sunshine and unhurried moments. At La Esperanza Granada, we like to serve it:
- As a first course for a long, leisurely lunch on the terrace
- Alongside grilled fish or seafood, when the weather is warm and the table is set outdoors
- As a light evening starter during orange season, when baskets of citrus arrive from local orchards
EXPERIENCE AUTHENTIC HACIENDA LIFE IN SPAIN
Let this simple Andalusian recipe be only the beginning. Visit La Esperanza Granada and step into a world where every sunrise, every meal, and every corner of the hacienda tells its own story.
It pairs beautifully with a chilled glass of fino sherry, a dry white from the region, or even a crisp cava when the occasion calls for something celebratory.
One of our favorite memories of this salad is a quiet dinner at the hacienda at the end of a busy wedding weekend. The tables had been cleared, the music had faded, and the house had fallen into that gentle, contented silence that comes after a joyful event. We set this anchovy and orange salad on a smaller table for the remaining guests and staff—a simple, shared meal after days of celebration.
Someone took a bite, paused, and said that it tasted “like the sea meeting an orange grove at dusk.” And in that moment, it felt like the perfect description not only of the dish, but of Andalusia itself: bright and bold, but always grounded in the quiet beauty of land and sea.
Serve it cold, serve it simply, and let the oranges and anchovies do the talking. The recipe is easy. The memory it creates lasts much longer.