Moroccan-spiced carrots

Today I am updating a post from November last year to make use of these glorious heritage carrots from Natoora. Of course, you can just use normal ones or baby carrots as I did originally. The introduction that follows remains the same, but I have edited the recipe.

As a budding young food anthropologist I feel very ambivalent about the name I have just given this recipe. I just spent my summer writing a dissertation querying the very notion that any dish or cuisine can be assigned a nationality. However, the alternative is a bit of a mouthful: “Carrots with preserved lemon, cumin, caraway and coriander seeds”. I could keep things vague, e.g. “Middle-Eastern spiced carrots”, but that only extends the problem, anthropologically speaking. Anyway, the point here is these carrots are bloody delicious and I really ought to leave such musings to my anthropology pages.

This is such a simple recipe. I threw it together for the first time a few weeks back when all I had in the fridge was a bunch of carrots from the farmers’ market and some preserved lemons that I made a few months ago. (Any excuse to use the lemons – they are fabulous.)

A small note on preserved lemons: it is very hard to give a specific measurement for these because they vary hugely in their intensity. If they are really old, homemade ones you may only need a sliver. On the other hand, the shop bought ones tend to lack flavour and I would be tempted to add a whole one. Please do taste them first and adjust the measurements accordingly.

I ate this as a dish in its own right, but it would make a wonderful accompaniment to a meaty main, such as a lamb tagine, or as part of a spread of Ottolenghi-style salads.

Serves four as a side dish.

Ingredients

1kg carrots or 3 bunches baby carrots
3 tbsp olive oil
½ preserved lemon, or to taste, finely chopped
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp caraway seeds
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
Salt, to taste

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Wash and peel the carrots. Cut into batons or if using baby carrots trim the stalks leaving about 1-2cm and leave whole. 

Put the carrots in a big roasting tray with the olive oil, preserved lemon, cumin seeds, coriander seeds and caraway seeds and toss.

Put the carrots in the oven for 10-12 minutes (it depends how big the carrots are). Remove from the oven, add the garlic and toss. Put back in the oven for 5 minutes until the garlic is soft.

Season with salt, if required, though you may not need it depending on how salty the preserved lemons are.

 

Comments

[Shekufeh Whittaker]

I have now made your spiced carrots three times. As you suggest, it is good on its own, with other spicy food and actually, it was pretty good with salmon too.

The last time I made it, I put whole garlic pods with the carrot and preserved lemon. Also added some courgettes. Yummy.

Thanks for the blue print.

Shekufeh

[Vix]

Hi Shekufeh, thanks so much for your lovely comment. I am so glad you enjoyed them as much as I did. Great idea re. whole garlic pods and courgettes. I like to think my recipes are flexible. I find it so hard putting measurements on things, because it really is all a matter of taste, hence my often lengthy intros suggesting all manner of variations... :)

[Charlie Brown]

Chris did a side dish quite like this at Orto...he also served them with yoghurt which was absolutely delicious!

[Vix]

Hi Cha, ooh nice. I'll have to try them with yoghurt! :)

[Ma]

How do you preserve your lemons?

[ma]

Dad cooked these carrots as a main dish for supper the other day. I think it is the first time I've ever eaten carrots as a main course not a side! They were completely delicious.
We are eating less and less meat as time goes on ;when I do eat meat it is a real treat, and I love it , but splendid vegetable recipes like this make going with out it much easier

[Vix]

Well you will be surprised to hear that I have eaten them once or twice as a main! I think they are that good and that is saying something from me (as I am eating more and more!)