Moroccan Carrot Salad, Take Two

How the hell do you spell Moroccan?  The question of whether to double your consonants or not becomes doubly tricky with the addition of "carrot" to Moroccan ... since in French it's "carotte."  What a mess.  As if British spellings weren't enough to mess up one's spelling.

When Helen sent me the link to this carrot salad in the LA Times, I was a bit like, ho hum, I've already made a Moroccan carrot salad, and it had harissa in it.  But this new one was WAY better!  Sauteeing the garlic, onions, and spices evened out the flavors.  Also, lightly cooked, larger chunks of carrot had a more pleasant texture than raw grated carrot.  Overall, this was a delicious, balanced dish: lemon, vinegar, chili, and cayenne all add zing, while sugar and cloves, ginger, cinnamon, etc. add warmth.  And of course, cilantro's off doing its own thing.  :)

I made a half recipe and it easily served three.

Spicy Moroccan Carrot Salad

(from the LA times)

Ingredients

2 pounds carrots

1/3 c olive oil, plus extra to finish

1 onion, finely chopped

1 tsp sugar

3 garlic cloves, crushed

1 serrano chile, finely chopped (and seeded, if you want less heat)

1 green onion, finely chopped

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground coriander

3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp sweet paprika

1 tsp ground cumin

1 TB white red wine vinegar

1 TB chopped preserved lemon lemon juice

salt, to taste

2 1/2 c cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped, plus extra to garnish

1/2 cup Greek yogurt, chilled

Instructions

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 sauté 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, and vinegar.
3. Remove from the heat. Season with salt and lemon juice, 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.  Serves about 6.