Spicy Moroccan Carrot Salad

This amazing carrot salad is adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi's gorgeous cookbook, Plenty, not to be confused with Diana Henry's same titled and equally awesome tome.  No, it isn't particularly kid friendly, but I promise that if you bring it out when friends are over, maybe with a simple lemon roast chicken (or, hell, for that matter, a chicken from Costco), you will receive rave reviews and a couple of requests for the recipe....(yup, happened to me the other night!)

The hard part is the preserved lemons.  You can't just buy them at the market, not even at Whole Foods.  (UPDATE:  I was just at WF:  you CAN buy them....Meyer lemon variety..but I would still make them...it will be cheaper for sure.)  You have to make them (click on the link below in the ingredients section.)  But it really isn't difficult.  And you will have loads of leftovers sitting in your fridge forever.  And you can spend your days trolling the internet for other recipes to use them up. All you need is a glass jar (mason jar works fine), organic lemons (available at Ralphs), kosher salt and olive oil.  And 5 full days in advance to wait for them to do their magic once you have assembled them. 

Spicy Moroccan carrot salad

Total time: 45 minutes, plus cooling time

Servings: 4

2 pounds carrots

1/3 cup olive oil, plus extra to finish (I used less than a quarter of cup, myself)

1 onion, finely chopped

1 teaspoon sugar

3 garlic cloves, crushed

1 serrano chile, finely chopped (and seeded, if you want less heat, but I went whole hog)

1 green onion, finely chopped

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon sweet paprika

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon chopped preserved lemon

Salt

2 1/2 cups cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped, plus extra to garnish (about 2 bunches)

1/2 cup Greek yogurt, chilled (honestly, totally forgot this step...still amazing.)

1. Peel the carrots and cut them, depending on their size, into cylinders or semicircles one-half-inch thick; all the pieces should end up roughly the same size. Place in a large saucepan and cover with salted water. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer until tender but still crunchy, about 10 minutes. Drain in a colander and leave to dry out.

2. Heat the oil in a large pan and saute the onion over medium heat until soft and slightly brown, about 12 minutes. Add the cooked carrots to the onion, followed by the sugar, garlic, chile, onion, cloves, ground ginger, coriander, cinnamon, paprika, cumin, vinegar and preserved lemon.

3. Remove from the heat. Season liberally with salt, stir well and leave to cool.

4. Before serving, stir in the cilantro, taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Serve

in individual bowls with a dollop of yogurt, a drizzle of oil and a garnish of the extra cilantro.

Each serving: 317 calories; 5 grams protein; 29 grams carbohydrates; 8 grams fiber; 22 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 5 mg cholesterol; 14 grams sugar; 193 mg sodium.

Salmon, Mango and Wild Rice Salad with Ginger and Chile

Are you sick of salmon recipes yet?  I know I go a bit heavy on the salmon stuff but it is just the most ubiquitous fish around and it is so good for you and it sears up so nicely that it is my go to fish these days.  So for those of you tired of the salmon dishes, don't fret, because this salad works nicely with any cooked protein: tofu, chicken, steak...whatever you feel like.  But it is especially good with a seared on the pan salmon filet.

This recipe is adapted from Diana Henry's book, Plenty.  It is a favorite book for sure...with lots of different regional influences and gorgeous pictures to look at and drool on.

Ingredients:

Salad

1/3 c wild rice
1 c brown rice (yes, you can get both the wild and brown rice on your next Trader Joes run.)
3 c chicken stock, veg stock or water
8 oz green beans (I used haricot verts), cut in half
2 small mangoes, peeled and cut up (yes, this is the WORST part of the recipe.)
14 oz cooked salmon, broken into chunks (heat up canola or peanut oil in a pan, salt and pepper your salmon, throw it in and cook until it gets a nice crust on the bottom, flip it to get another nice crust and you are done!)
1/2 c pistachios, shelled
cilantro leaves (I left these out because they weren't at TJs on the day I got all the ingredients)
squeeze of lemon juice (critical...brings it all together...don't skip this step.)

Dressing

1 1/2 tsp cider vinegar
1/4 tsp dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp grated ginger
2 fresh red chiles, seeded and chopped
3 tsp peanut oil
1/4 c olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1.  Put the rices into a saucepan with the stock or water and bring to a boil. Cover and lower heat to low, cooking for 30 minutes.

2.  Cook the beans in boiling salted water for a couple of minutes, then drain and place in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking and keep the pretty green color.

3.  Put all the dressing ingredients in a bowl and whisk OR in a small tupperware/jar and shake (my preferred method.)  Stir into bowl with rice and green beans.  Be judicious...you probably won't need all that dressing.  Add the rest of the ingredients, squeeze lemon juice on top and add salt and pepper to taste.

4.  Revel in your delicious, healthy and beautiful meal.  Brag about your meal sanctimoniously with all who will listen.  And then eat lots and lots of cookies for dessert.