Egyptian carrot salad with pita, almonds and olives

A beautiful salad to share with friends.

Egyptian carrot salad with pita, almonds and olives Credit: Petrina Tinslay

• serves

  6

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  45 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 3 bunches baby carrots, use a selection of heirloom varieties
• 2 tbsp dukah
• sea salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 big handfuls of baby rocket leaves
• ½ cup toasted almonds, sliced lengthways
• 1 cup Kalamata olives
• 1 quantity preserved lemon dressing
• 2 pieces toasted pita bread, broken into large shards (see below)

Preserved lemon dressing

• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tbsp preserved lemon rind, pith removed and julienned
• 1 tbsp honey
• sea salt and black pepper, to taste

Preserved lemon dressing makes 1 cup

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 200˚C (400˚F). Trim the carrots, leaving a small amount of the stems attached. There’s no need to peel the carrots when they are young. They roast beautifully with the skin on. Cut any large ones in half lengthways, trying to make all the carrots roughly the one thickness.

Toss the carrots in a large bowl with the dukah, salt, pepper and olive oil. Massage into the carrots so that each carrot is well coated. Place into a large baking dish so the carrots are in a single layer and bake for approximately 30–35 minutes until the carrots are golden and tender.

To make the preserved lemon dressing, combine all ingredients in a jar and shake well to combine.

Arrange the baby rocket leaves on a large platter and top with the roasted carrots. Sprinkle over the almonds and olives and just before serving drizzle with the dressing. Serve alongside the shards of crisp pita bread.

the food dept. fact

• To toast the pita bread, separate the 2 layers of the bread into 2 discs and place onto a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake in a hot oven, 200˚C (400˚F) for approximately 10 minutes until golden. Allow to cool and store in an airtight container for 2 weeks. Have these beautiful crisp breads on hand to serve with your favourite dip, yum.

Photography by Petrina Tinslay, styling by David Morgan and art direction by Anne Marie Cummins.

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.