On Friday night Forgotten Feast will be cooking up a huge banquet in Hackney. I will be cooking my favourite food inspired by the south of Spain and North Africa. We will be serving broiled lamb’s head (like in the Djemaa el Fna, Marakesh) with chickpea puree and celeriac boulangere, amongst many other dishes; one of which is carrot and orange salad. This is a traditional Moroccan dish, luscious served with lamb. I’m giving it a little twist by making the salad with blood oranges. They have a short season between December and March, so eat as many as you can while they’re still available.
Waste not: Buy organic carrots as the skins are nutritious and best kept on. Blood oranges keep best in the fridge. As this salad is made using cooked carrots, it stays fresh relatively well. So if you have any leftovers, keep them for your next day’s lunch.
Ingredients – serves 4 as part of a meal
400g carrots 1 blood orange Few sprigs of mint picked (keep the stalks for tea) 2 tsp cumin seeds 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Method
1) Wash the carrots and slice about 1-2 cm thick. Put into a pan with cold water and bring to the boil. Simmer for about 8 minutes until they’re firm to the bite but have just lost their crunch.
Drain (keep the liquid if you need to make a stock) and leave to cool.
2) Toast the cumin seeds in a dry pan until they start to crackle and brown. Bruise the cumin seeds in a pestle and mortar to bring out even more of their flavour.
3) Cut the top and bottom off the orange, then peal the orange with a knife. Be carefull not to leave any pith. Slice and then quarter the slices.
4) To plate the salad, first lay out the carrots, then the orange. Dress with olive oil. Finely slice the mint and sprinkle on top. Finally, season with sea salt, freshly ground pepper and the toasted cumin.
