Strange name for a salad I hear you say! Obviously the main ingredient is a root vegetable, the hugely underrated carrot, but the other reason for the name is because I was literally rooting around in the fridge and cupboards in my efforts to create this tasty dish. Having said that, the combination of flavours and textures are really very good. Roasting carrots draws out their natural sweetness and makes them incredibly tasty, but it also has the added benefit of increasing the bioavailability of the nutrients in them (you get more carotenoids from roasted carrots than from steamed or sautéed carrots). This makes a great meal as it is, but would also make a lovely accompaniment to some simple grilled chicken, or a great dish to serve as pat of a bbq.
Serves 2 or 3 as a main (or 4-6 as a side dish)
Ingredients
Roasted carrots, onions and chickpeas
500g carrots, scrubbed and sliced lengthways into quarters (or sixths ,or even eighths, if they are large carrots)
1 red onion, peeled and cut into 6 wedges
200g tinned chickpeas, drained
3 tbsp olive oil
Sea salt
Black pepper
Couscous
100g wholewheat couscous
200ml boiling water
1 stock cube (I use chicken, but use vegetable if you're a veggie)
Honey roasted almonds
50g whole almonds
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp olive oil
Sea salt
Black pepper
Tahini dressing
2 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp water
Sea salt
Black pepper
100g goats cheese
Small handful of mint leaves, thick stalks removed and roughly chopped
20g golden jumbo raisins
40g green salad leaves (watercress/rocket/spinach etc.)
Directions
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.
For the roasted carrots, onion and chickpeas
Place the sliced carrots and onion into a large roasting tray.
Drizzle over 2 tbsp olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Mix to ensure the carrots and onions are coated with the oil and then place in the oven for 20-25 minutes.
Remove from the oven and add in the tinned chickpeas and 1 tbsp olive oil and mix again.
Return to the oven for 10 minutes.
Remove, set aside and allow to cool slightly.
For the couscous
Place the couscous into a bowl.
Crumble over the stock cube and then add the boiling water.
Stir well, ensuring that the stock cube has dissolved.
Cover with cling film and set aside for 10 minutes.
For the roasted almonds
Place the almonds, honey, a pinch of salt, a crack of black pepper and olive oil in a bowl and mix well to combine.
Pour the nut mix onto a baking tray, spread out the nuts and place in the oven for 6-8 minutes.
Remove and allow to cool.
Roughly chop when ready to use.
For the tahini dressing
Place the tahini, olive oil, water, lemon juice, a good pinch of sea salt and a good crack of black pepper into a bowl. Mix well to combine (you should have a thick paste - add a little more water if too thick).
To assemble the dish
Place the couscous onto a serving platter.
Add the salad leaves and mix well.
Scatter over the roasted carrots, onions and chickpeas.
Tear off chunks of goats cheese, and scatter over the salad.
Sprinkle over the raisins, roasted nuts and mint leaves.
Spoon over the tahini dressing.
Serve.
This is so tasty, I hope you enjoy it x