For a taste of Morocco with its vibrant blend of warmth, crunch, and freshness, this cumin roasted carrot & lentil salad is a lunchtime feast for the senses. Carrots take the centre stage, which when roasted take on a sweet and caramelized flavour with a slight heat from the cumin. Married with the cool crunch of the raw vegetables, brought together with a parsley dressing and complimentary lemon zing, and finished off with a final crunch from a sprinkling of dukkah.
Carrots – the kitchen staple
Prized for their sweet flavour, especially when roasted, and versatility, it’s no surprise that carrots are a constant in most peoples shopping basket. Carrots can be used in a multitude of ways, raw as a crudité, in an Asian stir fry, or even used in sweet dishes such as the famous carrot cake.
Health benefits
And not only is the humble carrot a loved ingredient in kitchens across the world, but they are packed with beta-carotene, converting to vitamin A, they are also excellent for eye health and immunity. So there may be some truth that they help you see in the dark…
Other carrot recipes
As you have read above, carrots have a vast range of uses. Below are just some examples:
Dukkah
Dukkah is an Egyptian and Middle Eastern blend of nuts, seeds and spices, that is traditionally used as a dip with olive oil and bread. Everything is toasted and then either pounded or blended to a coarse mix. With its fragrant flavours and crunch dukkah makes a versatile addition to many dishes. If you need a recipe for dukkah look no further.
Growing carrots
One of the most, if not the most, important considerations when growing carrots is the soil. It needs to be light, well-drained and above all contain minimal stones. It’s important to sow as sparingly as possible in shallow drills and thin out seedlings when they appear. Baby carrots can be harvested in as little as 4-6 weeks, but larger varieties take around 3 months to mature.
Some popular varieties include: Nantes (classic sweet tasting), Chantenay (short and stubby), Autumn King (large and long), Purple Haze (striking colourful addition to the plate).
You can also peel and roast sweet potato in the same way as another alternative to the carrots.
If you don’t have any dukkah you can try my recipe here. Or you can replace with toasted pinenuts. Place 2 tbsp in a dry frying pan over a medium-high heat for around 5 minutes being moved regularly.
This salad works well replacing any of the vegetables with crunchy alternatives. Try finely sliced fennel or small florets of cauliflower.
Roasted Carrot & Lentil Salad
Equipment
- small blender
Ingredients
Salad
- 4 medium carrots
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 cucumber
- 6 radishes
- 2 celery sticks
- 1 little gem lettuce (or other crunchy lettuce)
- 1 pepper (ideally not green)
- 2 spring onions
- 400 g canned lentils
- 2 tbsp dukkah plus extra to serve
Parsley Dressing
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
- ½ lemon juiced
- 1 small garlic clove
- 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
- 6 tbsp olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven or airfryer to 180 °C.
- First prepare the carrots by top and tailing them, halving them, and then cutting them lengthways into quarters. If they are large carrots you might want to cut them into 6 wedges. The carrot batons need to be an equal width.
- Place the carrots in a bowl, add the olive oil, sprinkle with the cumin and season liberally.
- Place on a baking sheet in the middle of the oven and roast for 30 minutes until they still just have bite. Or place in the basket of your airfryer and roast for 15 minutes. In both scenarios turn them around about halfway through cooking.
- Whilst the carrots are cooking make the parsley dressing by placing all the ingredients into a small blender and process until you have a very fine, well mixed dressing. Season to taste.
- Taking your mix of remaining vegetables and salad, cut into small chunks of around 1cm/0.5" dice, all apart from the spring onion which you can slice finely. You should have an array of lovely colours in bite size pieces. Place these into a medium sized service dish along with the drained and rinsed can of lentils.
- When the carrots are ready, remove them from the oven or airfryer and cut into approximately 5cm/2” chunks and place on top of the raw veg. Pour the parsley dressing on top and give everything a good mix.
- Finally, sprinkle over the dukkah and serve alongside some sourdough/flatbread/pitta bread and extra dukkah.
Notes
- You can also peel and roast sweet potato in the same way as an alternative to the carrots.
- If you don’t have any dukkah you can try my recipe here or replace with toasted pinenuts – placed in a dry frying pan over a medium-high heat for around 5 minutes being moved regularly.
- This salad would work well by replacing any of the vegetables with crunchy alternatives such as: finely sliced fennel or small florets of cauliflower.
