Bring the bold flavors of Northern Africa home in the form of this Moroccan Carrot Salad with Citrus-Turmeric Dressing from Jackie Ackerberg’s new cookbook, The Clean Vegan. However, calling it a “salad” really sells the aromatic medley short. This is not your average bowl of limp leafy greens, starting instead with a vibrant tangle of crisp carrot ribbons as the base. Sweet, spicy, tangy, and refreshing all at once, each bite is a little bit different, dishing out an exciting eating experience from start to finish.
Why You’ll Love This Moroccan Salad Recipe
If you’ve ever gotten hooked on a particular recipe for weeks on end, you’ll understand the effortless appeal of this formula right away.
- No-cook option: If you can’t take the heat, there’s still a place for you in the kitchen! The only time you’d need to think about turning on the oven is to toast the cashews, and you can completely skip that step by starting with roasted, unsalted cashews instead of raw.
- Oil-free: Focus on good fats from whole foods sources, like nuts and seeds, rather than more processed oils. The results are every bit as satisfying and much less greasy!
- Complete protein: Where do you get your protein? Plants, please! Chickpeas and cashews join forces to create a protein powerhouse, making this either a complete entrée or highly nutritious side dish.
- Worldly flavors at home: Satisfy your wanderlust without leaving your house. Travel to Morocco for just one night by enjoying the full breadth of rich spices in this boldly seasoned dish, and still be in bed by 10pm.
Key Ingredients
- Carrots: This root vegetable is the star of the show, but that doesn’t mean it can’t share the spotlight. Switch things up and try a mixture of parsnips, daikon, sweet potato, zucchini, and/or beets when you want to shake up the routine. Consider using quick pickled carrots for a fun twist!
- Cashews: Start with raw cashews to bring out the richest flavors after roasting, without any added salt or preservatives.
- Chickpeas and aquafaba: When you open a can of chickpeas, don’t dump that brine! The liquid inside has as much culinary value as the beans themselves. Known as aquafaba, you can use it as a thickener, binder, and overall egg replacer.
- Pomegranate arils: A pack of fresh or frozen pomegranate arils works great in a pinch but to save money and maximize on the juicy flavor, go for fresh.
- Golden raisins: Providing a tart, tangy sweetness that harmonizes with the pomegranate arils, golden raisins add complex flavors along with a toothsome chew. Though the results will be slightly different, you could substitute conventional black raisins, currants, or chopped dried figs instead.
- Fresh herbs: Mint, cilantro, and scallions add pops of fresh herbaceous accents that brighten the whole dish. If you’re not a fan of cilantro, you can swap it for an equal measure of parsley.
- Citrus: Emphasizing acidic ingredients makes it easy to cut down on salt. Lemon, lime, and orange serve to accentuate the dazzling array of herbs and spices, underscoring each bite with sharp contrast.
- Maple syrup: All it takes is a tiny drizzle of this earthy sap to really make everything pop. It’s an unrefined sugar which means it won’t spike blood sugar the same way that other sweeteners might.
- Spices: Turmeric, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, and cayenne factor prominently in the highly seasoned golden dressing. You can get away with using mild yellow curry powder if you’re short on supplies but stay the course with the prescribed regimen for an optimal outcome.
How To Make This Moroccan Carrot Salad
Step One: Optionally roast the raw cashews in the oven, then set aside to allow them to cool.
Step Two: Use a julienne peeler to create “noodles” with each carrot. Transfer to a large bowl that has a tight-fitting lid and add the chickpeas, cashews, pomegranate arils, raisins, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, cilantro, mint and green onions to the carrots. Use salad servers or tongs to combine the ingredients, then set aside to make the dressing.
Step Three: Make the citrus-turmeric dressing by combining all of the ingredients in a blender for 30 seconds until completely smooth. At this time you can taste and adjust seasonings by adding more salt, black pepper and maple syrup if desired.
Step Four: Pour the dressing over the salad then cover the bowl tightly with its lid and shake the bowl for 10 to 15 seconds to thoroughly coat the salad with the dressing. Transfer the Moroccan carrot salad to the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes prior to serving it.
How To Make Carrot “Noodles”
There’s more than one way to turn the humble taproot into elegant strands of plant-based noodles.
- For the lowest-tech approach, use a very sharp knife to slice very thin planks that run the whole length of the carrots, turn them over and slice them into narrow strips. This method may be a bit time-consuming and yield the least consistent results, but it’s a great way to practice your knife skills.
- The next step up would be using a julienne peeler to create “noodles” with each carrot. All you need to do is run the peeler down the length of each carrot to make beautiful, matching vegetable threads.
- If you have a spiralizer handy, this is an excellent time to break it out. Bear in mind this is only a viable option if your carrots are particularly thick, since so much of the core is lost in the process. You may want to start with 1 ½ pounds of carrots in this case to ensure you end up with enough noodles.