Carrot Salad

12.1.2018
carrot

A light, tasty salad that can be used as either a starter or a main course.

This gorgeous Lebanese Carrot Salad comes courtesy of Riverford Organics and is one of the popular recipes they send out with their fresh veg boxes.

Ingredients

Instructions

  • 150 g bulgur wheat
  • 1 bunch carrots
  • 1 red onion
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 30 g parsley
  • 30 g dill
  • 15 g mint
  • 100 g watercress
  • 50 g pine nuts
  • 1 orange juice of half
  • 75 g date pieces check for stones
  • 1 pack High Weald Medita cheese
  • 2 tbsp chia seeds about 20g
  1. Preheat your oven to 200˚C/180˚C/gas 5. Boil a kettle of water. Put the bulgur wheat in a heatproof bowl (or use a pan). Add a good glug of olive oil and ¼ tsp salt. Pour over twice the volume of boiled water to bulgur and leave to stand.
  2. Scrub the carrots clean and chop into bite-sized chunks approx.-3-4cm. Peel and dice ½ the onion if small, ¼ if large. Toss both with the cumin in a baking dish in just enough oil to coat. When the oven comes up to temperature, pop them in and roast for 20 mins.
  3. Use the time to peel & crush or finely chop 1 garlic clove. Wash the parsley, dill and mint and shake them dry. Wash the watercress and leave to drain.
  4. After 20 mins, toss the garlic with the carrots and roast for a further 5-10 mins, until the carrots are just tender. Remove from the oven and leave to cool to room temperature, approx. 10 mins.
  5. Put the pine nuts in a dry frying pan and heat them gently, stirring now and them until toasted and golden. Keep a good eye on them as they can catch and burn quickly. Transfer them to a plate to stop them cooking further in the residual pan heat.
  6. In a large bowl, mix the juice from ½ the orange with 4 tbsp of good olive oil and season with a little salt and pepper. Chop the herbs and pick any larger stalks off the watercress.
  7. Once the carrots have cooled slightly, drain the bulgur wheat into a colander (check the grains don’t slip through first) or sieve. Press out any excess liquid with your hands. Transfer to a large bowl.
  8. Mix ¾ of the herbs into the bulgur. Add the dates, ¾ of the pine nuts, the dressing, ½ the cheese (crumbled). Gently toss together. Check the seasoning, and add a squeeze more orange or olive oil to taste.
  9. Divide the watercress between 2 serving bowls or plates. Serve the bulgur on top, dotted with the carrots, sprinkled with the remaining pine nuts, herbs, cheese and topped with the chia seeds.
  10. Serve sprinkled with the rest of the dates, pine nuts, cheese and herbs, finishing with the chia seeds.
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