Moroccan Carrot Salad
This is the cooked carrot salad that turns up on nearly every Moroccan table of small dishes, and it needs neither the oil nor the sugar most recipes add. Carrots are sweet enough on their own once simmered, and the sweetness is what makes the salt feel unnecessary. The one rule that matters is timing: dress the carrots while they are hot, when they act like a sponge, so the garlic, cumin, and lemon soak in rather than sitting on top. Serve it cold or at room temperature next to a grain or a stew.
Ingredients
- 1 lb Carrots, cut into 0.25 inch (6 mm) coins
- 2 cloves Garlic, grated
- 1 tsp Cumin seed, toasted and ground
- 1 tsp Sweet paprika
- 1/4 tsp cassia cinnamon, ground
- 1/8 tsp Cayenne
- 3 tbsp Lemon juice, fresh
- 3 tbsp Cilantro, chopped
- 2 tbsp Flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Method
- Simmer the carrot coins in water until a knife slides in with slight resistance, 10 to 12 minutes. Stop while they still have body. Boiled to mush, they cannot hold a dressing, and the point is a salad, not a puree.
- Toast the cumin seeds in a dry pan until they darken a shade and smell nutty, about 1 minute, then grind them. Toasting is the difference between warm, round cumin and the dusty raw kind.
- Drain the carrots and, while they are still hot, toss them with the garlic, cumin, paprika, cinnamon, cayenne, and lemon juice. Warm carrots pull the dressing into themselves as they cool, which is how the dish tastes seasoned all the way through without salt.
- Let the salad sit for at least 15 minutes, or refrigerate it overnight. The flavor deepens as it rests, so this is a dish to make ahead.
- Fold in the cilantro and parsley just before serving so they stay green and fresh against the spiced carrots.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 75 calories, 2 g protein, 4 g fiber, 65 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
