Moroccan roasted carrot salad

February 7, 2016

Here's a big, bright salad that's been sitting among my to-make bookmarks for a couple of years. We've actually already got a Moroccan carrot salad in our archives; by comparison, this one streamlines the spice list and has a greater variety of vegetables. Their roasting is brief - the carrots retain a hint of crunch while the onions are soft. Chickpeas are just barely warmed through and lemon wedges collapse in your hand, spreading juice and vesicles across the salad.

Everything's warmly spiced with cinnamon and paprika, while slivered almonds and dates add extra texture and a bit of sweetness. The original recipe also includes a dressing of yoghurt swirled with pomegranate molasses, but we found that there was plenty of moisture and flavour without it.

This salad would make a nice light lunch on its own, with the chickpeas lending just enough substance to satisfy. We teamed it with a watermelon salad for a lovely early dinner, and had plenty left to pack for work.

Moroccan roasted carrot salad
(slightly adapted from a recipe on Delicious Everyday)

1 bunch small carrots
1 red onion
1 lemon
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cumin
salt, to taste
1/4 cup slivered almonds
400g can chickpeas
1/3 cup dates
1 cup baby spinach leaves
1 cup rocket

Preheat an oven to 180°C.

Wash the carrots and trim off the stalks. Slice each carrot lengthways into four or more sticks and place them in a baking tray. Peel the onion, slice it into eight chunks and add them to the baking tray. Slice a lemon lengthways into four wedges and add them to the baking tray. Mince the garlic and add it to the baking tray. Drizzle over the olive oil, then shake over the paprika, cinnamon, cumin and salt. Gently toss the veges around the distribute the oil and spices. Bake them for around 30 minutes - the carrots will still be quite firm, and the onions should be soft but retaining their shape.

While the veges are cooking, place the almonds in a separate small baking dish and toast them in the oven, around 20 minutes. Be sure to check them every 5 minutes just in case they need less time - they can burn quickly.

Drain the can of chickpeas. When the roasted vegetables are done, add the chickpeas to the pan and stir them to catch some of the spicy dressing. Let the vegetables cool down for around 10 minutes. Use this time to finely chop the dates.

To serve, spread the spinach leaves and rocket across a serving platter. Arrange the carrots, chickpeas and onions over the greens; sprinkle with almonds and dates and garnish with the lemon wedges.