I brought this unusual salad – chunks of navel orange flesh, shaved red onions, halved Kalamata olives and crumbled feta cheese – to a potluck last night, and within an hour the huge bowl was empty.

It’s the end of the season for navel oranges, and Bob’s Market in Santa Monica had absolutely gorgeous ones on sale yesterday, two pounds for $1. This is a terrific (and economical) recipe for a crowd, and it would be particularly good with grilled chicken or fish.

The preserved lemon, a condiment often found in Moroccan recipes, adds a salty ultra-citrus background flavor, but if you can’t find any, feel free to leave it out.

Wondering what to do with the salty-sweet orange juice left in the bottom of the bowl after the salad is gone? I’m thinking it makes a great base for a salad dressing.

Mediterranean navel orange salad with red onions, olives and feta

• 10 navel oranges
• 1 red onion
• 1 cup pitted Kalamata olives (or any other black olive)
• 1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 Tbsp minced preserved lemon (optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 Tbsp Italian parsley, chopped

Zest two of the oranges with a Microplane (that’s my favorite gadget, but if you have a different one, be my guest). Set aside the zest.

Cutting out the flesh of the oranges is the most complicated part of this recipe, and it’s not all that hard. Put an orange on a cutting board and slice off both ends. Then, stand the orange on one end and cut down, slicing the peel and pith away from the orange and exposing the flesh. Do this all the way around; some of the flesh will come away with the peel, but that can’t be helped. Now slice the orange flesh into 1-inch rounds, and the rounds into chunks. Put the orange chunks in a big bowl.

Shave the red onion with a mandoline, or slice it in half-moons as thinly as you can. Cut the olives in half. Add those and everything else, including the orange zest, to the bowl, and toss gently. Be generous with the salt and pepper; even though the olives and feta are salty, you’ll still need more salt to balance the sweetness of the oranges.

Let the salad sit at room temperature for an hour, tossing gently every quarter-hour or so, to let the flavors meld. Serve sprinkled with more crumbled feta, if you like.