North African Carrot Salad

This salad uses a traditional North African dressing called charmoula–a mixture of oil, garlic, citrus, herbs, cumin, and salt. I find that this recipe works best with carrots, because their sweetness is a perfect pairing for the pungent dressing, but boiled, cubed potatoes with a chopped boiled egg would also be delicious. Toasting and then grinding the whole cumin seeds is really the key to this recipe–it gives the dressing a deep, earthy aroma.

North African Carrot Salad

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Servings

Ingredients

• 8-10 large carrots peeled
• 1 teaspoon whole cumin seed
• 1 garlic clove finely minced
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• ¼ tsp smoked paprika
• ⅛ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ cup cilantro finely chopped

Instructions

• Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add carrots whole, and turn down to simmer for 8 minutes. Remove carrots to a bowl of ice water.
• Meanwhile, toast cumin seeds in a small frying pan over a medium flame for 45-60 seconds, until they are beginning to brown and smell fragrant. Pour into a large mortar and pestle. Add garlic and salt, and pulverize. Add oil, lemon juice, paprika, cinnamon, and cilantro, mixing well before after addition.
• Remove carrots from water and pat dry. Slice on an angle into ⅛ inch rounds. In a large non-reactive glass bowl, toss with the dressing. Chill for at least an hour, or overnight for best results.