Tuesday, August 04, 2009

Spicy carrot and potato salad with mint


I based this recipe off one from North Africa for spicy carrots. I added potatoes and swapped cumin and curry for the paprika. The result tasted very Indian, which I love.

3-4 medium potatoes, cut into bite-sized cubes
3-4 carrots, sliced into rounds

Boil until just tender, but not soft.

While the potatoes and carrots are cooking, mix together the dressing. Make it to your tastes - just use the ingredients as a guide. Pick one or two spices as the main ones, then use smaller amounts of the others to highlight them. In this case, I used cinnamon and curry as the main flavors.

Start by mixing:
Juice of one lemon
2-3 tsp olive oil
1 tsp sugar (or more)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp curry
pinch salt

Mix and taste. Depending on how fresh your spices are, you may find one dominates the other. Add more of the weaker taste until the balance seems right.

Now highlight the taste by adding:
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
pinch of cloves
more salt if needed

Once the marinade tastes good, toss with the drained carrots and potatoes right away. Let marinate at room temperature a few hours, or refrigerate overnight and bring to room temperature. Snip mint leaves over top, then serve.

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