Carrot & Cumin Salad

Today I have a food hangover. Or maybe a wine hangover? Probably both. We were treated to the gastronomic indulgence that was a whole pig done on the spit at the Greek Deli last night. I haven't eaten rich food like that, in that quantity, for a long time, so that would explain the food hangover. I also probably won't eat like that again until Christmas, so it's OK. And it was so completely worth it. I love pork generally, but so often it's done to dryness and it doesn't meet expectations. This far exceeded expectations, was completely delicious and succulent, and the crackling was perfection.

So to keep my mind focused today, and make myself feel a little healthier I'm going to tell you all about my Carrot and Cumin Salad from Sunday. Coincidentally, this would have been a great accompaniment to last night's feast. I did alter the original recipe slightly, cooking methods, etc but nothing drastic. This is a very, very easy recipe and will be an excellent addition to the usual repertoire of summer BBQ salads, certainly will be added in our house. It comes from one of my favourite recipe books - The Simple Art of Marrying Food and Wine.

What you'll need:
6 medium carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tsp Ground Cumin
1 tsp Cumin seeds
Olive oil
100ml Orange Juice
A handful of coriander - if you love it, add more, if not go easy.

Don't scrimp on the orange juice. A good quality, real orange juice will add flavour and the stuff from concentrate is just plain bad for you.

What you need to do:

1. I used the food processor on the fine slicing setting to chop up my carrots. It meant that they weren't all exactly the same size, gave it a great rustic look and cut them finer and quicker than I could do by hand.

2. Add the olive oil to a hot pan - 4 tablespoons was recommended by the recipe - I used a couple of healthy lugs. Add the cumin seeds and ground cumin to the oil and mix. With the finished product I felt I could have added more.

3. Add the onions and cook on a medium heat for 4-5 minutes to soften but not colour.

4. Add the orange juice and heat that through, then add the carrots. Because they were so finely chopped they didn't need to cook for long. I like my carrots with a bit of crunch, and I was making a salad not mash!!

5. Add a little bit of water, season and cook for a couple of minutes until it's all heated through. Taste the carrots to see if they're the desired texture. If you want softer carrots, cook for a little longer. I cooked them for a couple of minutes and let the sauce reduce a little bit.

6. Take the carrots of the heat, strain the sauce from the carrots, back into the pan and reduce down till it's a little thicker and more syrupy. I think that took 2-3 minutes. Pour the sauce back over the carrots and mix through. Allow to stand and cool.

7. Once cool, add the coriander and serve at room temperature.

The whole process took about 15 minutes and I did it early in the afternoon so it could just stand and cool. I had it cold the next day out the fridge and it was just as lovely. In fact the flavours had matured a little as so often happens with food that has spices in it, and it tasted even better. One of those things that can be prepped the day before you need it.

Enjoy! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

Ciao
xoxo