Tuesday, May 08, 2007

moroccan night on the westside

spicy moroccan carrots

because it's been HOT here in lovely west l.a., i thought i should make a desert-inspired dinner tonite. well, not really. i saw this review on laist yesterday about a great little moroccan joint on westwood called koutoubia and i remembered the spicy carrots that i had there once. kind of sweet and spicy and cumin-y. yum. i had some carrots in the fridge, so i got them started on their overnite spicy marinade. here's the recipe i used, called taim chef einat admony's spicy moroccan carrots:

2 pounds carrots, peeled
3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for sautéing
1/2 tablespoon cumin
1/2 tablespoon paprika
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar (i used a tablespoon of honey)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
pinch of cayenne pepper
3 tablespoons white wine or champagne vinegar (i used half white balsamic and half apple cider vinegar)

Place carrots in a large pot of cold water and bring to a boil, cooking until slightly tender but not overdone, approximately 15 minutes depending on the size of the carrots. Drain and place carrots in an ice-water bath until cool, then slice diagonally into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. In a large pan, sauté the carrot slices in olive oil until slightly brown, cooking them in small batches if your pan becomes crowded. Place carrots in a bowl, add the olive oil and the remaining ingredients, and mix well. For best results, refrigerate overnight and serve at room temperature. Serves five.

to round out the theme, i roasted some salmon and threw together a couscous salad (chilled couscous, sliced cucumber, sliced tomato, chopped kalamata olives, chiffonaded mint (from my garden, no less), salt, pepper, olive oil & lemon juice).

moroccan-inspired dinner

it was too hot for mint tea.

8 comments:

Kalyn Denny said...

I love the sound of this! Saving the recipe right now.

Deborah Eley De Bono said...

With the yummy carrots from the Farmer's Market I've been fixing them steamed but this looks all the much better.

I have all the ingredients but the "white balsamic." I don't think I've ever seen that? What's that flavor?

Big Bird is so lucky.

Freya said...

Delicious! Always love new ways with carrots, and the Moroccan theme has seduced me! Love the pairing with salmon too!

wheresmymind said...

What sorta salmon? Pacific I hope or my wife wont eat!

maltese parakeet said...

jeff, i think it was atlantic farmed. we had some pacific wild last week and it was very lean and kind of yucky. like they had caught it at the top of the stream right before it got to the spawning ground or something! no fat left at all. pretty dry and yucky. i like 'em when they're a little plumper. mmm, copper river salmon. [say in homer voice]

barb said...

that finished plate looks wonderful....smokey paprika would be good!

Chris said...

Cool! I haven't thought of marinating veggies before cooking. This looks yummy!

Erin S. said...

Let me echo Kayln--this sounds great. I'll be making this soon!