Receta Moroccan carrot salad
A carrot salad might sound a bit dull, but this Ottolenghi recipe is really lovely. It reminds me of the delicious carrots I had as a side dish at a Lebanese restaurant in Vejer de la Frontera, Spain. I tweaked it a bit for French tastes (no chillis!). It’s very versatile — it can be served warm or at room temperature, as a dish in its own right, as one of a selection of hors d’oeuvres, or as a side dish. You can of course vary the spices according to taste.
- 250 g carrots
- olive oil
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
- 1 spring onion, finely chopped
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- pinch chilli powder/pimentón picante
- 1/2 tbs white wine vinegar
- 1/2 tbs lemon juice
- salt
- chopped parsley or coriander
- Greek yoghurt (optional)
Scrape the carrots and cut into slices about 1 cm thick. Cover with cold water, add salt, bring to the boil, and cook for 10 minutes — they should still be a bit firm. Drain in a colander and leave to cool and dry out.
Meanwhile gently fry the chopped onion in some olive oil for about 10 minutes, till soft and starting to brown. Add the carrots and all the rest of the ingredients except the parsley/coriander and the yoghurt, and mix well. Season well with salt. Leave to cool, but don’t refrigerate — it’s better at room temperature.
Just before serving, sprinkle with parsley or coriander and drizzle a bit more olive oil over it. When serving on its own, you can add a dollop of yoghurt to each serving if you want.