Harissa Carrot Salad With Avocado

A few weeks ago, after discovering the joys of making harissa from scratch, I spooned a few tablespoons of the fiery, bright paste into a warm dressing infused with garlic, cumin seeds, and fresh lemon, then tossed it all with shredded carrots and chopped parsley.

I was following a recipe on Smitten Kitchen and, as promised, the salad incited more excitement than I imagined capable of a heap of carrots. I ate nearly the entire salad myself, saving a small bowl for Ben, who devoured it as enthusiastically and quickly upon walking through the door after work.

If you have a food processor to shred the carrots and a jar of harissa, homemade or otherwise, on hand, the salad comes together in no time, and it can be adapted in many ways. My favorite variation includes sliced avocado and olive oil-fried toast, but I’ve also served it atop a smear of lemony yogurt sauce , and I’ve also folded in feta, as suggested in the original recipe. In short, adapt the recipe to your tastes and preferences.

As alluded to above, I find this salad completely addictive, and it’s making me especially excited for the summer CSA carrots . But it also makes me wonder, what other vegetables could we shred and toss with this warm harissa-spiked dressing? Raw beets? Raw sweet potatoes? Turnips? Cabbage? Keep me posted if you make any discoveries.

PS: Homemade Harissa (So good and easy! I use the recipe from the Jerusalem cookbook , which calls for using fresh red bell peppers as opposed to dried chilies. I could spoon this harissa over anything.)

Here’s a play-by-play. Gather 3/4 lbs. carrots: no need to peel! Send them down the food chute of your food processor with the shredder attachment in place.

Gather the remaining ingredients:

The hardest part: mincing a clove or two of garlic; juicing a lemon or two; finely chopping some herbs.

Place all of your sauce ingredients in a little saucepan:

Bring it to a sizzle, and cook for one to two minutes. Add fresh lemon juice off the heat.

Toss the carrots with the warm harissa dressing:

Add chopped cilantro or parsley or mint or a combination of all three:

Toss again:

Serve with avocado on the side as well as a slice of toast:

It’s especially good all mixed together. Yum.

Description

Adapted from a harissa carrot salad recipe from Smitten Kitchen .

I’ve been making this with homemade harissa , which varies in spiciness every time I make it depending on the heat of the chilies. Typically, it is less spicy than store-bought brands, which is why I can use as much as 1/4 cup in this recipe. You may only need a teaspoon or less depending on the harissa you are using. Feel free to use whatever prepared harissa you like, though I highly recommend making it from scratch. It is so good and relatively easy.

Use whatever herbs you like best. The original recipe calls for mint, which would be delicious. A combination of herbs would be nice, too. The original recipe calls for feta, which would be delicious. I’ve also served it atop a smear of yogurt sauce as in this roasted cauliflower with skhug recipe .

• 3/4 lb. carrots, scrubbed, root ends trimmed, but unpeeled
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• harissa to taste, I use about 1/4 cup of homemade harissa, but I suggest starting with a teaspoon if using store-bought, see notes
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice (from about 1 lemon)
• ½ cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley or cilantro or a mix of the two
• 1 avocado, halved and thinly sliced

1. Send the carrots down the chute of your food processor with the shredder attachment in place. Transfer shredded carrots to a large bowl. Alternatively, coarsely grate with a box grater.
2. In a small saucepan, toast the cumin seeds over medium heat until they begin to darken and smell fragrant. Add the garlic, harissa, sugar, salt, and olive oil, and bring to a sizzle. Cook until fragrant, about one to two minutes. Remove pan from the heat and add the lemon juice.
3. Pour the dressing over the carrots and mix. Add the herbs and mix again. Add the avocado, if using, and toss again. Serve immediately or let stand for an hour or so before serving. Note: If you would like to make this ahead of time, hold the avocado until just before serving.

• Prep Time: 25 minutes
• Cook Time: 5 minutes
• Category: Salad
• Method: Toss
• Cuisine: Moroccan

Description

Adapted from a harissa carrot salad recipe from Smitten Kitchen .

I’ve been making this with homemade harissa , which varies in spiciness every time I make it depending on the heat of the chilies. Typically, it is less spicy than store-bought brands, which is why I can use as much as 1/4 cup in this recipe. You may only need a teaspoon or less depending on the harissa you are using. Feel free to use whatever prepared harissa you like, though I highly recommend making it from scratch. It is so good and relatively easy.

Use whatever herbs you like best. The original recipe calls for mint, which would be delicious. A combination of herbs would be nice, too. The original recipe calls for feta, which would be delicious. I’ve also served it atop a smear of yogurt sauce as in this roasted cauliflower with skhug recipe .

• 3/4 lb. carrots, scrubbed, root ends trimmed, but unpeeled
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• harissa to taste, I use about 1/4 cup of homemade harissa, but I suggest starting with a teaspoon if using store-bought, see notes
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice (from about 1 lemon)
• ½ cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley or cilantro or a mix of the two
• 1 avocado, halved and thinly sliced

1. Send the carrots down the chute of your food processor with the shredder attachment in place. Transfer shredded carrots to a large bowl. Alternatively, coarsely grate with a box grater.
2. In a small saucepan, toast the cumin seeds over medium heat until they begin to darken and smell fragrant. Add the garlic, harissa, sugar, salt, and olive oil, and bring to a sizzle. Cook until fragrant, about one to two minutes. Remove pan from the heat and add the lemon juice.
3. Pour the dressing over the carrots and mix. Add the herbs and mix again. Add the avocado, if using, and toss again. Serve immediately or let stand for an hour or so before serving. Note: If you would like to make this ahead of time, hold the avocado until just before serving.

• Prep Time: 25 minutes
• Cook Time: 5 minutes
• Category: Salad
• Method: Toss
• Cuisine: Moroccan

Find it online : https://alexandracooks.com/2018/05/22/moroccan-carrot-salad-with-harissa-and-avocado/

I’ve said it before , and I no doubt will say it again, but I find nothing more delicious than union of flaky pastry, creamy frangipane, and sweet-tart fruit. Here’s the latest, seasonal frangipane galette rendition: rhubarb-orange, always a nice match.

The beauty of the galette process is that the flaky pastry dough, a longtime favorite David Lebovitz recipe, is made in the food processor, as is the frangipane — no washing in between necessary. If you have your ingredients all measured out, the assembled galette can be in the oven in just about 15 minutes.

I hope all you enjoy the process as much as I do.

PPS: Rhubarb Schnapps + More Desserts

For one galette, you’ll need about 3/4 lb of rhubarb, ends trimmed, stalks cut into 2-inch lengths.

Sprinkle the rhubarb with about 1/3 cup of sugar and the zest of one orange. Toss to coat.

Make the dough.

First pulse the flour, sugar and salt together.

Add the butter and pulse 10 times (about).

The butter should be the size of peas (about).

Add ice water.

Pulse again about 10 to 15 times or until the dough is still crumbly, but holds together when pinched.

Divide dough between two clean tea towels. (Don’t wash your food processor!) I love these tea towels by Now Designs .

Gather towel into a beggar’s purse, and squeeze to form a round.

Transfer one to the freezer for a future use.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the remaining round into a circle about 12- to 13-inches in diameter.

Fold dough into quarters to easily transfer to a parchment-lined sheet pan.

Incidentally, I love these flexible dough scrapers from King Arthur Flour .

Make the frangipane: add to the food processor an egg, softened butter, vanilla, almond flour, and sugar.

Purée until smooth.

Spread frangipane into center of dough leaving a 1- to 2-inch border.

Top with the rhubarb and spread out.

Brush the dough with melted butter. Sprinkle with sugar.

Transfer to a 400ºF oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes.

Serve with vanilla ice cream or lightly sweetened whipped cream.

Description

Flaky pastry + frangipane + fruit is one of my all-time favorite combinations.

If you can’t find almond flour or don’t feel like paying for it or don’t have it on hand, you can pulse almonds (whole, sliced, slivered, whatever) in the food processor. The color of the frangipane will be brownish if you use whole almonds and the texture of the finished frangipane might not be as smooth but the taste will still be great.

Depending on how tart your rhubarb is you may need more or less sugar, which is why I’ve given a range. I’ve made this twice this week, once using 1/4 cup sugar, once using 1/3 cup sugar, and both amounts still yielded cooked fruit with a nice tartness. I didn’t serve it with ice cream or whipped cream, but either of the two would be a nice way to balance the tartness.

for the rhubarb:

• 3/4 lb rhubarb stalks, cut into 2 -inch lengths
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup sugar
• zest from one orange

for the pastry:

• 2½ (320g) cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• ½ teaspoon kosher or table salt
• 2 sticks (16 tablespoons | 8 oz | 227 g) unsalted butter
• ½ cup + 2 tablespoons ice water

for the frangipane:

• 1/2 cup almond flour or finely ground almonds, see notes above
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• pinch salt
• 2 tablespoons butter at room temperature
• 1 egg (small if possible)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla, rum, brandy or bourbon

for assembly and serving:

• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 to 2 tablespoons sugar for sprinkling, turbinado is nice
• vanilla ice cream or lightly sweetened whipped cream, for serving

1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF and place a rack in the center of the oven.
2. Prepare the rhubarb: Toss the rhubarb with the sugar and orange zest in a large bowl and set aside.
3. Make the pastry: In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the flour, sugar and salt together. Cut the butter into small pieces, then add to the food processor. Pulse at 1-second intervals until butter is the size of peas—should be about 10 quick pulses. Add the ice water and pulse again about 10 times until the mixture is crumbly but holds together when pinched. Lay two clean tea towels on a work surface. Dump half of the crumbly dough mixture into the center of each. (Don’t wash the food processor!) Grab the four corners of the towel together and twist to create a beggar’s purse, pressing the dough into a round. Use your hands to pack and flatten the round. Store one of the rounds in the freezer for a future use. Keep the other nearby handy.
4. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough into a 12- or 13-inch round. Use as much flour as needed to prevent the dough from sticking, and every few rolls, flip the dough over. Transfer dough to a parchment- or Silpat-lined sheetpan. If you have space in the fridge, chill the pastry while you make the frangipane.
5. Make the frangipane: Combine almond flour, sugar, salt, butter, egg, and vanilla in the uncleaned bowl of the food processor. Purée until smooth.
6. Spoon the frangipane into the center of the rolled out dough leaving a 1- to 2-inch border. Heap the rhubarb and all of the juices into the center of the frangipane and spread out to cover. You can cherry pick the really red pieces and arrange them on top — the bright red stalks look so pretty in the end. Fold the exposed edge of dough towards the center to make a rustic enclosure. See the video linked above for guidance.
7. Brush the edge of the dough with melted butter. Drizzle the remainder over the exposed rhubarb. Sprinkle the sugar evenly over the top. Bake for 35 minutes or until golden. Remove pan from the oven and let rest on cooling rack for 5 to 10 minutes or until Silpat or paper is cool enough to handle. Grab the edges of the paper or Silpat and slide to a cooling rack to cool further or to a cutting board to serve. Cut into wedges. Serve on its own or with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 35 minutes
• Category: Dessert
• Method: bake
• Cuisine: French, American