Yield: varying

Get your taste buds ready for one of the best salads ever. Reproduced by Trish Pfeiffer–who is surely one of the most inspired home cooks on the East Coast–based on a description by our mutual art teacher friend, Knox Garvin, this salad is definitely more than the sum of its humble parts. Sheer alchemy occurs when the simple ingredients are tossed together. Healthful, light, beautiful, and absolutely heady from the smoky aroma of cumin, this is one you’ll want to turn to again and again.

Trish brought it to our house last night to have with my rosemary cashews, green grapes and a little pinot grigio before dinner at a nearby Indian restaurant. I devoured so much of her concoction, that all I could eat for dinner was a small cup of lentil soup.

There are no set proportions of ingredients for this salad. Let your eyes and your taste buds be your guide:

Fresh clementines or fresh mandarin oranges, peeled and divided into sections (I suppose you could use canned, rinsed and drained mandarin oranges in a pinch, but taste, texture and nutrition would be compromised)
Green olives, sliced
Red onion, peeled and finely chopped
Olive oil
Ground Cumin
Coarse sea or kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Combine first three ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Toss with a little olive oil, sprinkle with next three ingredients to taste, and toss lightly again. Adjust seasoning of desired and serve on a large platter.