When I saw these heirloom carrots, I knew I had to make them the star of a dish. So beautiful, they look like sunshine in a plate… and I sure need some sunshine now in this freezing New York winter 😉 I thought of making a Moroccan carrot salad with Harissa (which is a paste made of hot chillies), but I didn’t want a side dish. I was looking to make a salad that can pass as a meal by itself. It came out so good! Spicy carrot “noodles” and greens with the addition of black lentils- which made it a protein rich dish (for everyone asking “where do you get your protein?) even though there is protein in the carrots, the greens and in the pumpkin seeds. If you are concerned about protein or other nutrients you can check-out CRON-O-METER. It’s a site that calculates food nutritional values according to what you enter. I don’t really worry about it as long as I make sure to eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, beans, whole grains, nuts and seeds. Variety is the key word here 🙂 and yes, it may be a little extra “work” peeling the carrots but doesn’t such a beautiful vegetable deserve the extra VIP treatment?…
Ingredients
8-10 Carrots washed and peeled
1 Can Cooked black lentils washed and drained
Juice of half a Lemon
1 ½ tsp. Harissa sauce
¼ tsp. Cumin
Salt and Black pepper
Olive oil
4-5 Cups Mixed greens (I used Baby Kale and Baby Arugula)
Handful of Dry roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Chopped Cilantro
Preparation
First make the dressing to marinade the lentils. Mix the Harissa sauce, lemon juice, oil and spices with the lentils first and set aside to let the lentils soak up the flavors.
Wash and start peeling the carrots keep on peeling them all the way to the end, until there’s nothing to peel. It’s best to use a “Y” shaped vegetable peeler to get wider “noodles”.
Blanch the carrots in boiling water for 1-3 minutes and drain -Or- sauté them very lightly in a little bit of oil, salt and pepper, just a few minutes to soften them. Be carful not to over cook so they will not get soggy.
To serve: on a large plate, place the greens first, carrot “noodles”, lentils and pumpkin seeds.
Drizzle the rest of the juice/dressing with cilantro on top.
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