Sumac Roasted Rainbow Carrot Salad with Za’atar Yogurt
Easy salad that is filling enough for a lunch or light supper and that comes together in no time.
I love the Middle Eastern flavours running through this salad and as the carrots are the star here, it might be worth sourcing the freshest carrots you can find. I picked up a lovely bunch of rainbow carrots at my local weekend farmers market, but any bunch will do.
Carrots as the Star:
Try to source organic carrots where possible, mainly because of FLAVOUR! Carrots in SPRING tastes the best and I love how this fairly cheap veggie is such a versatile work horse in my kitchen.
For the dressing you can use labneh (thick yogurt spread) or thick yogurt dolloped on the salad. You can make a runnier dressing to drizzle by using normal yogurt (the runny kind).
The success of this dish will depend on your seasoning, so, be generous with the spices (to your liking), salt, pepper and plenty of citrus.
A note on Middle Eastern Spices, Sumac and Za’atar:
Sourcing from an authentic deli would be first prize but most supermarkets stock both these spices.
Sumac is a red spice made from tart sumac berries. The taste of the spice is zingy and citrussy. My sourcing tip would be to buy a small jar of sumac rather than a large jar as I feel the spice does lose its ‘zippiness’ if hanging around your spice cupboard for ages.
Za’atar is made from toasted sesame seeds, dried herbs and spices. It adds a lovely fragrant perfume to food.
Harissa paste is another great Middle Eastern staple to have in your fridge. Harissa is a mildly spicy dip made with roasted peppers and spices. The heat and quality of the harissa paste can vary wildly between brands so I love the fact that I can make my own using this simple recipe or I love the Belazu brand harissa with rose water that you can pick up at some deli’s or online.
Sumac Roasted Rainbow Carrot Salad with Za'atar Yogurt
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 bunch carrots, peeled or scrubbed (very well)
- 2 teaspoons sumac
- 2 teaspoons fennel seeds
- 1 lemon, zest & juice to taste
- 1 handful herbs, I love dill, mint and coriander
- 2 handfuls watercress or rocket, roughly chopped
- 3 radishes, thinly sliced
- flaky seas salt & ground pepper
Harissa Chickpeas
- 1 tin chickpeas, drained well
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon Spanish smoked sweet paprika
- 1 tablespoon harissa
- salt & pepper
Za'atar Yogurt
- 1/2 cup thick Greek yogurt or runny yogurt, of your choice
- 1/2 teaspoon za’atar
- small garlic clove, minced
- 1 lemon zest & squeeze of juice (more to taste)
Instructions
- Preheat oven 200c, add the carrots, olive oil, sumac and fennel seeds to a baking tray, season and roast for 30 minutes until golden and soft but still have texture (we don’t want mushy carrots). Remove to cool slightly. You can keep the carrot whole or cut into bite size chunks.
- At the same time - mix the chickpeas with paprika, harissa and olive oil, season well and roast in the same oven as the carrots (they might pop!) until chewy or crunchy, about 15 minutes (soft) or a little longer if you want them to be crunchy. Remove and cool.
- Meanwhile, mix all the yogurt ingredients together and taste and season with salt, pepper and lemon juice.
- To serve, scatter the watercress and/or rocket on a pretty plate, add the cooled carrots, radishes, chopped herbs and a generous season with lemon zest, juice, salt and pepper. Dollop the yogurt over the salad, followed by the chickpeas or if you are using a runny yogurt, add the chickpeas before finally drizzling over the yogurt. You can now add a pinch of sumac and/or za’atar seasoning over the final dish. Enjoy!