I first had this at a friend’s bbq a couple of years ago.  I decided to make it this week because I recently made a pasta that required harissa so I had a lot of it left over.  I found this can of harissa at whole foods for only $3-4.  I’ve also seen this come in tubes, which would probably be better as far as saving it for later.  A little harissa goes a long way.  Since I’m left with a whole can minus a few tablespoons, I’m now looking for other recipes to use it up.

The recipe below is for 4 servings, however for our lunch I needed to make 8 servings (to last 2 days) so I used 5 lbs of carrots.  This is the perfect use for a food processor with the grater adapter.  I actually didn’t peel the carrots either because that would have taken way too long.  I just made sure to wash them really well.  I had 5 lbs grated in about 10-15 minutes.

You can start with store bought ground caraway (if this exists) and cumin, but I just ground them up in a mortar and pestle.  A spice grinder would work too.

We are well into the 3rd week of our kitchen remodel.  It is especially frustrating not having a kitchen sink.  We decided to do a few more things, so it is going to be a few more weeks of cooking on the washing machine in the dining room.

Adapted from smittenkitchen.com.

Ingredients

makes 4 servings

• 2 pound carrots, peeled, trimmed and coarsely grated
• 3-4 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 3-4 tablespoons fresh mint, finely chopped
• 100 grams feta, crumbled or chopped into bits

Dressing:

• 8 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 crushed clove of garlic (minced)
• 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds or about half as much, ground (I used seeds but ground them first)
• 3/4 teaspoon cumin seeds or about half as much, ground (I used the seed but ground them first, again)
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 3/4 teaspoon harissa (for a solid kick of heat; adjust yours to taste, and to the heat level of your harissa)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 6 tablespoons lemon juice (1 lemon)

In a small sauté pan, cook the garlic, caraway, cumin, paprika, harissa and sugar in the oil until fragrant, about one to two minutes. Remove from heat and add the lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Pour over the carrots and mix. Add the herbs and mix. Leave to infuse for an hour and add the feta before eating.  FYI, the more feta, the better.

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