Carrot and Orange Salad

So the Moroccan Chicken I made a little while back started me craving more Moroccan food. Thus the little dinner which turned out to be the first meal I cooked at my new flat:

It’s a little overkill, especially since I served it with flat bread on the side for scooping up couscous and tagine bits. I also served a dry Riesling which complemented the meal perfectly.

The Menu:

Carrot and Orange Salad with Cinnamon

Cucumber and Preserved Olive Salad

Vegetable Tagine

Couscous with Vegetables

Dry Riesling to serve

This salad is something that probably appears on every Moroccan menu or in any Moroccan cookbook. I like the carrots julienned like this rather than shredded into a strange quivering orange mass.

Quivering mass? Well I suppose you could smother this in lemon jello and still call it a salad. That’s what everyone did from 1950-1985. Then someone pointed out that jello is not a salad. No matter how you slice it or mold it.

Ingredients:

4 Large carrots peeled and cut into 2 inch long matchstick-like pieces (julienned)

2 Oranges peeled, all pith removed and rough chopped

2 Tablespoons of orange juice

1 Tablespoon of lemon juice

¼ Teaspoon of cinnamon

½ Teaspoon of sugar (Brown or raw preferred)

Cinnamon sticks, lemon or orange wedges, cilantro or flat leafed parsley to garnish (optional)

Method:

Mix up the orange juice, lemon juice, cinnamon and sugar in a large bowl, add the carrots and oranges. Chill for at least 20 minutes for flavors to develop.