Orange, Olive, and Baby Leek Salad with Verjus-Tarragon Dressing

This pairing of olives and juicy oranges is yet another brilliant combination of ingredients, dictated by necessity. My Albanian friends explained that the oranges their gardens produced were sour and full of pips, nothing like today’s sweet, lush and pip-less fruits. Paired with salty olives and sweet baby leeks or onions, and often complemented with shredded cabbage, the oranges became a robust and delightful treat.

In the old days, this sal