Spicy Moroccan Carrot Salad

A salad that is delightfully bold and sweet yet earthy. It’s the perfect contrast to something more mellow like a roast chicken or compliments something spicy like stuffed eggplant with lamb. You can even make it a chicken and carrot wrap for lunch on the go.

This salad is a great option for entertaining because it can be eaten warm, room temperature, or cold which makes timing with other dishes really forgiving.

This version of the salad is slightly modified from Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi.

Spicy Moroccan Carrot Salad Ingredients⅓ c olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 lbs carrots
1 tsp salt
2 serrano peppers 
1 Tbl minced garlic
1 green onion, thinly sliced
⅛ tsp cloves
¼ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp coriander
¾ tsp cinnamon
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cumin
1 Tbl white wine vinegar
1 Tbl minced preserved lemon
2 ½ c chopped cilantro leaves½ c Greek yogurt (optional)

Spicy Moroccan Carrot Salad Directions
Heat ⅓ c olive oil in a sautee pan. Turn the heat to medium high until the oil shimmers. Add the 1 chopped onion. You should hear a sizzle. You should hear a little sizzle and small bubbles should form around the onion as it cooks. If you don’t see the bubbles, increase the heat. If you don’t see bubbles, decrease the heat. When the onions are on the medium side of light brown, turn off the heat.

Cut 2 lbs carrots into ½” thick rounds. As you get to the thicker part of the carrot, you may need to cut the rounds in halves or thirds so the pieces are uniform in size. This helps to make sure the carrots cook evenly.

In a 3 quart sauce pan, add the carrots and enough water to cover them. Add 1 tsp of salt. Bring the water to a boil. Pierce a carrot piece with the point of a knife, It should go through the carrot with medium resistance. Usually, I need to boil the carrots for 2 minutes to get to this texture. The knife test is the best measurement because timing depends on the size of your carrot pieces, the freshness of the carrots, and how long it took the water to come to a boil. 

As soon as the carrots are finished cooking, remove them from heat and strain the water. You don’t want them to continue to cook.

Chop the 2 serrano peppers. Cut off the stem and slice the pepper down the length. Remove the seed head. I don’t worry about removing the stray seeds. If you don’t like heat, either cut out the veins or use a milder chile. Slice the pepper into strips and then cut across the strips to create small squares.

When the onions are finished cooking but still warm, add the 2 chopped peppers, 1 Tbl minced garlic, 1 sliced green onion, ⅛ tsp cloves, ¼ tsp ground ginger, ½ tsp coriander, ¾ tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp cumin, 1 Tbl white wine vinegar, and 1 Tbl minced preserved lemon. Stir the onion and seasonings until it’s mixed well. 

Add the carrots and stir to combine. Taste. Add salt if needed. I don’t usually add more. Right before serving, stir in 2 cups of chopped cilantro into the carrots. When plating the carrots, top with cilantro and a dollop of yogurt. 

Notes
You’ll likely have most of these ingredients on hand. If you don’t have cloves, you can use allspice but at a larger quantity. Cloves have a distinctive flavor and are strong so hard to replicate the flavor but the allspice will bring some earthiness to the carrots. 

Preserved lemon is probably the least likely thing you’ll have on hand. It can be challenging to find at most American groceries. Middle Eastern groceries carry it. You can make preserved lemons easily but it takes a few weeks of curing. I usually opt for the much quicker option of pickling lemons. You can also use lemon zest in a pinch.