I have many Moroccan friends and relatives whose cooking I adore! Their salads are especially fabulous. Fragrant, healthy and rich in flavor, they are relatively easy to prepare and delicious on their own or as a side dish. I found these pretty heirloom carrots this week at Trader Joe's. Carrot salad is one of my favorites. Yotam Ottlolenghi is of Morrocan descent, and his recipe for Spicy Carrot Salad is a winner. You can serve it either warm or cold.
Ingredients
2 lbs carrots
1/3 cup olive oil, plus extra to finish
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 tsp sugar
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 medium green chilies, finely chopped
1/8 tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground coriander
¾ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
salt
2 ½ cups cilantro leaves, chopped, plus extra to garnish
½ cup Greek yogurt, chilled
Directions
Peel the carrots and cut them, depending on their size, into cylinders or semicircles ½ inch thick; all the pieces should end up roughly the same size. Place in a large saucepan and cover with salted water: Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes or until tender but still crunchy. Drain in a colander and leave to dry out.
Heat the oil in a large pan and sauté the onion for 12 minutes on a medium heat until soft and slightly brown. Add the cooked carrots to the onion, followed by all the remaining ingredients, apart from the cilantro and yogurt. Remove from the heat. Season liberally with salt, stir well and leave to cool.
Before serving, stir in the cilantro, taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Serve in individual bowls with a dollop of yogurt, a drizzle of oil and garnished with extra cilantro.
