I first saw this recipe in Food and Wine magazine, the May 2010 edition. I didn’t even need a photo, just reading the ingredients convinced me this salad was a winner. Its a perfect winter salad or a substantial protein replacement in the summer. A terrific compliment is a generous dollop of strong yogurt to ballance the heat of the spices. However, if you are a no-dairy person, I suggest serving it with other simple dishes that will let it be the star, and a starch to ballance the heat. Some grilled chicken or vegan protein of your choice, rice, or mashed potatoes, with fresh corn on the cob or green beans. Beautiful.
This salad has the healthy version of a carb fix in the chickpeas. Their starchiness ballances and absorbs the hot and spicy flavours of the cumin and paprika. The carrots add a touch of sweetness and fresh crunch, while the lemon juice lightens the spices and the coriander gives a refreshing last touch. Its a beautifully ballanced salad. I was shovelling back scoopfuls and scoopfuls :)
MyRealFoodLife.com
Carrot and Chickpea Cumin Salad
Note: If you are a fan of creeping heat in the dressing and want it to permeate the dish, I strongly suggest you replace the olive oil with home made Hot Pepper Infused Olive Oil. It only takes minutes to make! Its totally worth it! Also- I really reduced the amount of olive oil in the recipe. I like my salads light. And I prefer the almonds raw.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup slivered raw / blanched almonds nut-free: use pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds
- 2 packed cups chopped cilantro
- 2 cans chickpeas drained (or 3-4 cups cooked)
- 1 pound carrots, peeled and shredded
Dressing
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 garlic clove, minced (optional)
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (omit if you use hot pepper oil)
- 1/3 cup hot pepper olive oil or regular olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Add salad ingredients to a bowl.
- Mix dressing thoroughly and pour over ingredients.
- Toss.
- Yum!
woot! i’m so glad you like it!! :D
yes, i did my carrots in a food processor… because otherwise, super time consuming. thanks so much for commenting Kristina! :D
OK, I made it this week and it is YUMMY!!!! Did you do your carrots in a food processor? I’m thinking that would have been faster, but results are still super! :) Seems to keep welll too – no mushiness. A satisfied blog-reader!
heya! it definetly infuses over night- so, if you eat it next day, serve it with a starch to ballance it out. Yogurt helps alot with it. It would be super with naan bread too.
Is this one of those salads where the flavour infuses even more after an overnight or a day or two in the fridge, or is it best served immediately?