Moroccan Cooked Carrot Salad
Published January 20, 2009
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
- Total Time
- 15 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
1 pound carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
3 to 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (to taste)
2 large garlic cloves, minced or pureed in a mortar and pestle with ¼ teaspoon salt
Salt to taste
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon cumin seeds, lightly toasted and ground
2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (to taste)
¼ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
FOR THE GARNISH
Imported black olives
2 hard boiled eggs, cut in wedges (optional)
Preparation
- Step 1
Place the carrots in a steamer above 1 inch of boiling water, cover and steam 5 to 8 minutes, until tender. Remove from the heat, rinse with cold water, and drain on paper towels.
- Step 2
Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet and add the garlic and cumin. Cook, stirring, for about 30 seconds, until the garlic smells fragrant, and stir in the carrots, pepper, and salt to taste. Stir together for a few minutes, until the carrots are nicely seasoned. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice, remaining olive oil, and the parsley. Taste and adjust salt and lemon juice as desired. Transfer to a platter, and decorate with olives and hard-boiled eggs if desired. Serve at room temperature.
Advance preparation: You can make this several hours before serving. The dish, without the lemon juice and parsley, will keep for a couple of days in the refrigerator. Reheat gently on top of the stove and add the lemon juice and parsley.
Private Notes
Comments
switch the parsley for coriander and cool the carrots in water with ice cubes to keep a nice flashy orange color.
also great with raisins.
Used one less tablespoon of olive oil and the dish was still rich. This is a relatively easy dish with bright flavors. It looks beautiful when plated with the quartered hard boiled eggs and olives.
Try it with multicolored carrots, but be sure to steam and not boil as the purple ones will turn a drab grey. Over many years of making this type of salad, I have found it benefits from making it ahead and chilling it for two hours or more for flavors to develop - I always chill with lemon juice and parsley already incorporated, with no ill effect. Never seen it in Morocco with eggs though... For variety try mint leaves as alternative with orange blossom water and orange juice, add paprika.
The recipe should be doubled because it’s delicious.
Would steam for just 5 min and add more lemon juice
These were delicious! So simple - except for the carrot prep. Next time using a mandolin. Either way, highly worth it!