Thursday, July 30, 2009

Adventures in Salad #5- Morrocan Carrot Salad

Grated carrot salad with cumin seed, olive oil and lemon juice (#14)

Today I tried the Moroccan carrot salad which was made of grated carrots, toasted cumin seed, olive oil, lemon juice and cilantro. Four or 5 times a week I get a chicken pita for lunch from this little Mediterranean place by my job and I thought this would make a nice accompaniment. According to Mr. Bittman there is "no better use of raw carrots" I might have to agree with him on this one. Although it sounds like there's not really a lot going on ingredient wise, this salad achieved what yesterday's salad did not; a cohesive salad experience where no single was overpowering or odd and the salad as a whole provided an entirely different taste experience any any of the parts.

I really liked this salad. The carrots were nice and tender after stewing in the lemon juice for a few hours. The cilantro and lemon provided brightness which was nicely tempered by the cumin-ness of the cumin seeds. :-p I don't really know how to describe the effect of the cumin in this dish... slightly sweet... earthy... and a perfect compliment for the cilantro and brought everything together.

If I were to make this salad again, I'd probably add a more cumin seed. I also might add just a tiny bit of honey... maybe.. it was near perfect as is.

So my final thoughts....

-Would I eat this salad again? Absolutely. I think this will have to become one of my lunch time staples when I eat my pita. I need to find a way to add some green without ruining the flavor.
-Would I serve this to company- Absolutely.
- Did I learn anything from this salad experience?- toasted cumin seeds are yummy...
- Salad rating: Solid A- Great little addition to my salad repertoire!

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