Chermoula-spiced carrot and chickpea salad with chargrilled fish

“There was no shortage of carrots and chickpeas in the Medina of Fez. I saw purple and yellow carrots, which we now refer to as ‘heritage carrots’, but I got the feeling they just call them carrots! Using chickpeas in a salad works better than you might imagine, but the real star here is the salty, spicy Moroccan chermoula sauce; it brings this salad alive. I served this salad with some fresh fish cooked on coals, but I can imagine it working brilliantly with chicken or even some grilled haloumi cheese.” Ainsley Harriott, Ainsley Harriott’s Street Food

Credit: Ainsley Harriott's Street Food

• serves

  4

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  15 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• olive oil, for brushing
• 4 whole sea bream (or similar), about 225 g each, cleaned and scaled
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Chermoula salad

• 6 carrots, peeled and cut diagonally into 2.5 cm slices
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 3 white anchovy fillets
• 3 tbsp capers, rinsed
• large handful coriander leaves
• 2 large handfuls flat-leaf parsley leaves
• pinch of ground saffron
• ½ tsp paprika
• ¼-½ tsp cayenne pepper
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 60 ml (¼ cup) extra-virgin olive oil
• 400 g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• sea salt 

Instructions

To make the chermoula salad, cook the carrots in lightly salted boiling water for 5-6 minutes or until just tender but still with a little bite. They should have a nice crunch. Drain and quickly refresh in cold water to prevent them from cooking further.

Meanwhile, place the garlic, anchovies, capers, coriander and half the parsley on a chopping board and coarsely chop together. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the remaining ingredients. Add the carrrots and stir to combine well, then stand at room temperature until ready to serve.

Preheat a barbecue or chargrill to high. Rub a little olive oil all over the fish and season, then cook for 4-6 minutes on each side or until just cooked through. Serve immediately with the carrot and chickpea chermoula salad.

Visit the Ainsley Harriott’s Street Food program page to catch-up on episodes online, scroll through recipes and read our interview with Ainsley.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.