Spiced Carrot Salad

The origin of this recipe is unknown. I found it printed in a (large, unwieldy) pile of recipe prospects with no reference notes. I’ve added a few ingredients and subtracted a few others. What I came up with was lovely. It went beautifully with the beef skewers and tasted great in the pepper lime dipping sauce that accompanies that recipe!

1 pound carrots, peeled and thinly sliced on the bias
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon honey
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Dash cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
Juice of 1/2 lemon

In a pot of boiling generously salted water, cook carrots until just barely tender, about 5 minutes. While carrots are cooking, combine oil, cumin, garlic, honey, cilantro, salt, pepper, cayenne, lemon zest and lemon juice in a medium bowl. Whisk until well blended. Drain carrots completely, then add warm carrots to the bowl with the dressing. Toss to coat evenly with dressing. Serve at room temperature or chilled.
Quick Tips
1. If you don’t like the taste of cilantro, use flat-leaf parsley instead for color. You will not get the flavor burst that cilantro provides, but if you don’t like it anyway I suppose that is the point.
2. This recipe supposedly serves 4, but I could have made twice as much and still had nothing left over. We loved this salad. I myself had thirds and would have kept going had the kids not finished it before I could get there. Save time and double the recipe. You can always use any leftovers in lunches.

Preparation time: 10 minute(s)

Cooking time: 5 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 4

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