Wednesday, June 25, 2008

And now for something different

I love this interesting salad. I'll eat a bowl of it for lunch, or it can be served as a side dish like I'm doing tonight. The ingredients are simple enough and you've probably got all of them in your pantry already. It's got a nice little kick, too, which is exciting. I love things that taste exciting. If you're looking for something a little different to take as a sidedish to next weekend's barbecue, why not try this little number? Best of all, it's so simple that even I can make it.

I found it in one of my favorite little books, "The Skinny: How to fit in your little black dress forever" written by Melissa Clark & Robin Aronson. The only thing I changed was adding more cilantro. I adore cilantro. Don't tell anyone, but sometimes in the grocery store, I stop by the cilantro and just take a little sniff. It's such a happy scent.
Here's what you'll need to make this quick dish. We've got shredded carrots, cilantro, roasted cashews (they're camera shy), extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, Tabasco sauce, coriander and a little salt & peppa. I use organic carrots; I think they taste sweeter.

The recipe calls for harissa, which is a thick, pungent Moroccan hot sauce that's sold in tubes in gourmet specialty shops. I don't have harissa, so I'm using Tabasco sauce. You can also substitute roasted peanuts for the cashews.

Moroccan Carrot Salad with Coriander and Cashews

1 pound carrots, peeled
1/2 cup roasted cashews, roughly chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 tsp. harissa, plus additional, to taste, or Tabasco sauce, to taste
1/4 tsp. ground coriander
Coarse sea salt or kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Shred the carrots using a box grater or a food processor fitted with the grating attqchment. Transver to a bowl and add the cashews and cilantro.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, lemon jucie, harissa, and ground coriander. Pour the mixture over the carrots and toss to combine, seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve.

Hope you like it!

11 comments:

Mental P Mama said...

Everything but the cilantro. Ptooey. I bet I could use parsley, though...right? It sure looks good. Except for the cilantro. Did I mention that?

abb said...

I've come to the very scientific conclusion that you either adore cilantro or you passionately hate it. I'm of the PH school. However, any recipe that calls for that, I just substitute parsley and it works perfectly! That looks like a delicious salad. Except for the cilantro...MP and I certainly agree on that! ;-)

Shimmy Mom said...

That sounds Yummy. Thanks.

The W.O.W. factor! said...

Yum! Just printed it off. Can't wait to try it!

dlyn said...

Looks yummy Kate - and I looooooove cilantro!

Dr.John said...

Sounds great and good for the waist as well.

Egghead said...

Yum. Now I am hungry.q

Anonymous said...

I'm lovin' your blog Country Girl....keep those healthy recipes coming. THe carrot salad is a taste of spring here in biter,cold Peoria. And my maltese Kody would love to be a playmate to George...he's almost 13 years. Kudos and a ten for photos and text. Kody's Mom

Anonymous said...

Whether cilantro tastes good our foul is genetic, like being able to turn your tongue into a circle. I happened to get the foul-tasting/smelling gene. You can see some entertaining haiku regarding cilantro at ihatecilantro.com.

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

Just made this - a really nice, subtle, rich flavor. I used Sriracha sauce instead of harissa, and it was perfect!