Sunday, April 14, 2013

Instagrams of Yumness - Moroccan Carrot, Cauli and Ruby Red Grapefruit Salad‏



So, I've been pretty slack with the photographs lately - so you'll only be getting phone pictures for a while. Sorry about that.

I've been somewhat pre-occupied with researching and booking our upcoming holiday, so everything else has fallen by the wayside.  Seriously, so excited! At times like this, my memory is even worse than usual. Do you ever buy a specific ingredient with a specific dish in mind - then completely forget why? I do. All. the. time. I bought some ruby red grapefruit last weekend. I can only imagine that it was for some form of salad, given that it got back up to 37C, despite being April. I can't remember what I planned to pair with it, but a salad still seemed like a good idea.

Lately I've been wanting Moroccan flavours. I haven't had a great deal of Moroccan cuisine (despite being in love with my tagine and using it to cook everything), but I had leafed through a Moroccan cookbook a few weeks back and thought that they would go well with the grapefruit. A lot of recipes call for harissa paste, which I knew was a chilli paste of some description, but I didn't know the specific flavours. I found a recipe online and gave it a go, using it as a rub on a slow-roasted lamb leg but I can't say that I was all that excited by it. I decided to try a commercial one, to see what it was 'supposed' to taste like. Much better. Zesty, with a decent residual heat. Cumin and caraway stronger than the one I made. Perfect for a salad dressing. I added honey for sweetness, herbs for freshness, crunchy veges and some seeds for texture.

Quite impressed with the results. Fresh and spicy at the same time. Really easy to prepare as the food processor does all the work. Perfect salad for a warm night. Paired beautifully with steaks. Next time, I would consider adding some fetta or goats cheese and toasting the seeds.


Moroccan Carrot, Cauliflower and Ruby Red Grapefruit Salad

Half head cauliflower
4 small carrots
4 big sprigs flat leaf parsley
4 big sprigs basil
4 big sprigs coriander
handful pepitas
1 tbsp white sesame seeds
1 tbsp black sesame seeds
1 red grapefruit

2 tsbp harissa paste
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp grapeseed oil
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp grapefruit juice

shaving of pecorino to serve

Break the cauli into florets, and put it through the processor, pulsing until it resembles rice. Put it in a bowl big enough to hold the whole salad. Do the same with the carrots, add to the bowl. Do the same with the herbs, but leave slightly bigger.

Segment the grapefruit, breaking it up over the bowl of the processor to catch the juice. Break the segments into small pieces and add to the bowl of vegetables. Add all of the seeds, and fold together, mixing thoroughly

To the grapefruit juice in the bowl of the processor, add the harissa paste, honey, grapeseed oil and salt. Blend to combine, check for seasoning.

Pour dressing over the vegetables and mix thoroughly, then serve with pecorino. As I said, next time I'll use fetta or goat's cheese.

4 comments:

  1. What a great idea, sounds yum! I wonder how that would be with a quinoa base..

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    1. I was actually planning on adding some cooked black rice to this dish to bulk it up a bit and add another texture, but we'd eaten a snack earlier on so I didn't need to. Quinoa would work just as well, too.

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  2. This sounds great! And fresh too. Am I right? A perfect Summer's meal.

    x Jasmine

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    Replies
    1. Yes, very fresh! The bits of grapefruit really lift and freshen

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