Moroccan Carrot Salad|How to make

Moroccan Carrot Salad is a simple, flavorful and unique North African salad that everyone will enjoy.

This salad can be served as a delicious vegan starter or as a side to a casual lunch or dinner.It makes for a great holiday dish for friends and family get-togethers too.

This Moroccan Carrot Salad made with a blend of tender cooked carrots tossed with fresh herbs and warm Moroccan spices.The spices commonly used in this salad are cumin, harissa or sumac spice and paprika.

The salad is then dressed in lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil, along with cilantro(or parsley).If you so prefer, you can sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds as a final touch.

What are the ingredients required to make this salad?

Carrots

Carrots, the easily available, all year around budget friendly, seasonal produce is the star of the show in this salad.

Carrots are cooked tenderly in salt water, just enough to soften, but not turn mushy.They need to still hold their shape.Cooking the carrots makes them perfectly tender and sweeter, with a bit less of their earthy flavor.

Soft tenderly cooked warm carrots absorb the flavors of spices well along with olive oil and lime juice, making this a simple yet mouth-watering carrot salad.

Preparing this salad ahead and placing it in the refrigerator, allows the spices to marinate and deepen their flavor, makes this salad taste even better!

Celery (optional)

If you enjoy a little bit of crunch in your salad, along with the soft and sweet carrots, you may add chopped celery to your salad.It is completely optional.

In our recipe here, I add a stick of celery for that extra crunch.

Celery is not an ingredients used in the traditional Moroccan Carrot salad recipe.If you enjoy a bit of culinary adventure while preparing a traditional dish, like I did, give it your little spin.

Looking for healthy and delicious salad recipes? Click here to learn more!

Spices

For that special Moroccan flare to this recipe, make sure to add the following spices,

• Cumin
• Harissa spice /or Sumac
• Sweet Paprika

For Flavor

Fresh minced garlic can’t be beat, to add a touch of flavor to any dish, including this salad. You can skip it you don’t like using garlic.

Toasted sesame seeds (optional) can be added if you enjoy a nutty flavor to your salad.

Garnish

Add fresh cilantro (or parsley or mint if you so prefer) for a pop of green on top.

Dressing

Keep it simple and flavorful by dressing the salad with,

• Fresh Lemon Juice
• Extra Virgin Olive oil

Coating the salad with the above melds the flavors well, making it delightful and tasty.

Moroccan Carrot Salad Recipe

Moroccan Carrot Salad|How to make

Recipe by Maya Shetty

Course: CARROTS, SALADSCuisine: Mediterranean, Moroccan, North African

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Servings

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

20

minutes

Calories

732

kcal

Total time

30

minutes

Ingredients

• 12 large 12 Carrots peeled and cut into medallions

• 1 1 Celery stick optional

• Harissa spice

• Cumin powder (Jeera)

• Sweet Paprika

• Coriander powder

• 1-2 1-2 Garlic cloves minced

• 1/2 cup 1/2 Cilantro chopped

• 3 tbsp 3 Extra Virgin Olive Oil

• 2-3 tbsp 2-3 Fresh Lemon Juice

• 2-3 tbsp 2-3 Toasted Sesame seeds optional

• 3 tsp 3 Salt

• Water

Directions

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add carrots and allow the carrots to cook for about 20 minutes. This will make them soft, tender and sweet. Next drain the water, using a colander.
• Next transfer the cooked and drained carrots immediately to a large mixing bowl.While the carrots are still warm and nice, season with the listed spices (like harissa, cumin, coriander and paprika) along with a dash of Kosher salt.
• Next add minced garlic, celery, cilantro, lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil, to the above and give the salad a good toss.
• At this point you may sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds on top if you so prefer and toss the salad. Serve at room temperature or refrigerate and serve.

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Tips for making the best Moroccan Carrot Salad

It helps to remember a few tips while making this carrot salad, though it is one of the easiest salads to make.Here goes…

• Cut the carrots evenly – It is important to remember to cut the carrots in uniform sizes.When boiling carrots you want all the pieces to cook well and evenly at the same time, to avoid crunchy in one and mushy in another.If you cut carrots in different sizes, you might end up with some overcooked and some uncooked carrot pieces, so it is important to cut them even. You may want to use a good carrot slicer like this one here.
• Remove excess water from cooked carrots – Once the carrots are cooked, you may use a colander to drain water by setting them aside for a few minutes.This ensures that the water is completely drained, before adding the carrots to the salad.
• Dress the carrots while they are still warm – This helps the flavors from the warm Moroccan spices, fresh herbs and bright dressing to be well absorbed.
• Refrigerate overnight to deepen the flavors – Refrigerating the salad in the marinated spices and tossed dressing, allows the salad taste to deepen and be more flavorful the next day or two.
• Salting the water before boiling carrots – If you are using say 12 large carrots for this salad, then you may use 3tsp of salt to the water before boiling.Salting the water before boiling and cooking the carrot slices in them sweetens their taste. Reduce or add salt depending upon the number of carrots you are using for this recipe.
• Freshly squeezed lemon juice – Adding freshly squeezed lemon juice from 2 lemons works best for this recipe, after you have removed the seeds. You may add more if you like a more citrusy flavor.
• Fresh herbs -In this recipe we used cilantro, but if you don’t like the taste of cilantro you may use parsley or mint.
• For more heat– Try adding finely diced jalapeno into the salad.
• Serve at room temperature – For tasting the delicious flavors and the perfect textures of these carrots in the Moroccan salad, serve this salad at room temperature. You may also serve it chilled if you so prefer.

Essential Kitchen Tools for making the best Salad

While you are busy trying out new salad recipes in your kitchen this season, don’t forget to check out our blogpost on Essential Kitchen Tools for making the best salads.We have an amazing collection of kitchen tools for you to shop from, in our blogpost, that will make life easy for you, save time and help maintain a mess free kitchen.

Read all about it here or by clicking the image below.

FAQ’s

How long can I store this carrot salad in the refrigerator?

This Moroccan carrot salad, stays good in the refrigerator for 3-4 days, when placed in an airtight container.

You may bring it to room temperature before serving.

What is Harissa spice made up of?

Harissa recipes vary among different countries but most versions of this spicy paste include a blend of hot chili peppers, garlic, olive oil, and spices, including caraway, cumin, coriander, and mint. Other common ingredients include tomatoes and rose petals.

What does Harissa taste like?

If you like your food spicy, you’ll almost certainly love harissa, a hot pepper chili paste. It’s got a deeper flavor than just chili – you get a spicy hit backed by garlic and lemon. Sometimes it’s sweet and smoky.

What is a good Harissa substitute?

You may substitute with Sriracha sauce or Red pepper flakes, if you don’t have Harissa spice handy.

Is Sumac the same as Harissa?

Sumac is a slightly tangy Middle Eastern spice that goes well with anything. Especially salmon, avocado, poultry, and roasted veggies! 

Harissa is also another Mediterranean spice that’s a total game-changer. It’s slightly spicy and warm without being over powering.

Links to our other Carrot Recipes

Here is a list of our other carrot recipes you ma enjoy.

• Bombay Carrot Salad
• Moroccan Carrot Salad
• Creamy Carrot Soup
• Carrot Chutney
• Carrot Poriyal/Stir Fry
• Carrot Paniyaram
• All about Carrots

The Bottom Line

Moroccan Carrot Salad is a salad with the perfect balance of sweetness from the carrots and tangy dressing.It is so easy to make with just a few ingredients.

We are sure you will enjoy our flavor filled and colorful Moroccan Carrot Salad, once you give it a try. If you do, we would love to hear your feedback in the comments section below.