A Spicy Salad For Your Eyes / Une Salade épicée Pour Vos Yeux

When I was about four-year old, I used to wear glasses. I had a slight squint (my siblings used to all me cross-eyed).

I used to go to the eye doctor every week, and every time we would come back from his office my father would show me a building on the far left side of the street and ask me if I can see it clearly. Most of the time my answers were an exasperating no! He would console me with a kiss on my forehead and tells me that I would do better next time and that for now a plate of carrots salad would help my eyes get better.

I don’t know if it was my mothers’ spicy carrot salad that helped my eyes get back on the right track, but at least it was a good excuse for me to have the biggest part.

This salad is very popular in Algeria and Morocco. It is usually served in a small plate along with two or three colorful seasonal salads. My mother usually boils the carrots, slices them then tosses them with a cumin vinaigrette. I came across a cute bunch of tiny carrots the other day at the grocery store and decided to leave them whole and roast them. The salad can’t be easier: Just whisk the vinaigrette, pour it over the carrots and roast the colorful bounty for about 15-20 minutes, until the carrots are caramelized and your whole house smells like a Mediterranean spice shop.

You can serve this salad slightly warm, but I think it tastes better after a few hours, to give the warm spices and the carrots a little while to “ripen”.

Another Favorite Salad:
- Roasted beets Salad

Spicy Roasted Carrot Salad

Recipe: Serves 6
- 2 thin carrot bunches, peeled
- 1 fat garlic clove, finely diced
- Lemon juice
- 2 tbsp garlic oil
- ½ tsp honey
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- ½ tsp paprika
- 1 pinch ground cinnamon
- 1 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
- ½ tsp Kosher salt
- Freshly ground pepper

Position a rack in the middle of the oven, and preheat to 400F.

In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic oil, garlic, honey, cumin seeds, paprika, cinnamon, salt and black pepper. Set the vinaigrette aside.
In a baking sheet, toss together the carrots with the vinaigrette, and bake until caramelized and tender, about 15-20 minutes.

Serve with a drizzle of lemon juice and chopped cilantro.

Salade épicée de Carottes Rôties

In Francais Please: Pour 6 personnes
- 2 bottes de carottes plus au moins fines
- 1 grosse gousse d’ail, finement hachée
- Jus de citron
- 2 c.s d’huile d’ail
- ½ c.c de miel
- 1 c.c de graines de cumin
- ½ c.c de paprika
- 1 pincée de cannelle en poudre
- 1 c.s de coriandre frais, hachée
- ½ c.c de sel (pas de sel de table)
- Poivre noir fraichement moulu

Mettre la grille du four au milieu, et préchauffer a 200C

Dans un petit bol, mélanger l’huile d’ail, l’ail, miel, graines de cumin, paprika, canelle, sel et poivre. Mettre cette vinaigrette de coté.
Mettre les carottes sur une grande tôle et les enduire de la vinaigrette. Cuire au four jusqu’a ce que les carottes deviennent tendres et caramélisées, environ 15-20 minutes.

Servir avec un filet de jus de citron et la coriandre hachée.