I had grand plans to share a pot pie recipe for Thanksgiving today but we've entered a new era of short naps which meant, I've not had a ton of time to shoot a slightly more intricate recipe. Enter this Moroccan Carrot Salad. It can easily be cooked and assembled in about 25 minutes, has a ton of flavor, and is vegan/gluten-free. While you can buy a Moroccan spice blend (Ras El Hanout), I think it's easily blended at home with spices you most likely already have. I'm also a bit loose with dressing for this salad as I find it really takes knowing your taste and adjusting accordingly. Squeeze some lemon juice and drizzle some olive oil on top. If the balance isn't right, add a bit more. There's no hard and fast rules here.
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This salad relies heavily on the spice mix linked to below. You can buy pre-mixed Ras El Hanout but it's easy enough to make from spices you already have in your pantry.
Tips and Tricks: The method I use for the pomegranate is to cut a whole pomegranate into quarters and working in a large bowl of water, remove the seeds by hand. This prevents splatter all over the kitchen!
Stock up: get the pantry ingredients you will need: Millet, Carrots, Almond Slices
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The sweetness of the roasted carrots is essential to the overall flavor of the salad + Moroccan spice blend. Plus, the carrots roast up rather quickly, making this the ideal meal or side. Make an extra large batch of the spice blend to use on other roasted vegetables.
Carrots: If you don't have carrots or aren't a big fan of carrots, sweet potatoes would be the next option followed closely by parsnips (not as pretty but I do like the flavor).
Greens: If you're looking for more of a salad, toss the final mixture with lettuce or fresh spinach for a nice salad. Let the carrots/millet cool before doing this.
Additions: For amping up the protein, try adding chickpeas and/or feta. I thought the salad was great without either but my first choice addition would definitely be feta.
This Moroccan spice blend (Ras El Hanout) is easily made with spices you most likely have on hand. It's flavorful without being overpowering and works well with a wide array of vegetables. A few other ways to use this blend:
Soup: Moroccan Roasted Vegetable Soup
Tagine: Garden Vegetable Tagine with Ras El Hanout
Chickpeas: Moroccan Chickpeas with Barley
I always knew about millet, but only recently started using it a bit more. I still have some troubles with it in salads, I noticed that it clumps quite a bit when cold. This salad sounds delicious, perfect for winter months when heartier salads are what I need.
Pot pie sounds delicious, but this looks beautiful. I love the combination of the pomegranate and ras el hanout. And I know I'm more likely to pull together a salad like this than a pot pie on any given day.
Hi Erin,
Thanks for this recipe. The kids kept coming into the kitchen and asking what's that smellllll.............
when the carrots were baking! 🙂 All of us loved it and since I didn't have any millet at hand, the salad worked beautifully with couscous .
Thanks again!
It looks beautiful and delicious. I have not used millet but would like to try this recipe.
Ciao Erin, thanks for last Friday dinner 😉 I used radicchio instead of parsley and it still turned out lovely. Have a great day 🙂
Hi.
I have been following your blog for a long time now. I just made this dish for dinner tonight and it was soooo good. I loved it! I made the recipe just as listed.
Thank you!
I made this dish tonight since I had carrots and pomegranate from my CSA--I used cous cous as I didn't have millet on hand, but I think millet might be a nice alternative. My cous cous was the Israeli kind and worked, but I think a chewier grain would have been better. Hindsight! Also, I think next time I'd toast the almonds. I love a toasted almonds! The flavors were really nice and the textures were great too--crunch, chew, fresh... Really yummy! And I have leftovers for lunch!
Delicious salad, really enjoyed it and easy to put together =)
Sounds delicious! Any thoughts on a different fruit to sub for the pomegranate seeds, if pomegranate is hard to get? Maybe wild blueberries?
I've had a hard time coming up with a good sub because the pomegranates also add a layer of texture not found in the other ingredients. Blueberries might be nice though!
Help please! I'm making this tonight and have never made millet before. The instructions that I have found ask for far too much millet that is required for the salad. Can anyone instruct me how to make 1/2 cup cooked millet?
It would only be 1/4 cup of millet with 1/2 cup of water in a small pan. I recommend making a little more and having leftovers to use in another salad or meal.
I have made this now a few times, it's really and truly delicious. There used to be a link to a ras el hanout recipe that worked well. Am I missing it, or is it no longer available? If it's gone from your site, would you be so kind as to send me in the right direction? Thank you.
Ah, it got unlinked but it should be back now! Just incase, here's the link: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/ras-el-hanout-101070
This is such a delicious recipe. The spice adds so much flavour. A really nice change for a salad. Thanks for sharing.
This was really yummy! I didn't have pomegranate seeds on hand, so I used 4 medium, finely chopped dates (used in a similar salad I cooked from Blue Apron)-- it turned out really well! I love the spicy-sweet-nutty combination. Thanks!
We loved it! I did not have cilantro but added everything else. It came out great!
I'm in love with this salad - its simple, delicious and really satisfying - It's become a regular staple in my work lunch rotation. Even good without pomegranate seeds (which I only add when they're affordable!) Thank you!
Could not see the spice blend combination you make for this recipe. Could you send it my way? This looks so delicious!
https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/ras-el-hanout-101070 I used a pre-made blend but I've also blended my own with this recipe!
The Ras El Hanout recipe calls for 1/2 tsp cayenne, but I can't eat anything spicy (hot). Will this little bit make the recipe spicy or just give it flavor? Would it taste alright without it? Thanks!
I think it would be fine- I often cut the heat out of blends because my 5yo goes for mild.
So tasty,loved it