Recipe: Carrot Tahini Salad

Everyone loves a mouth-watering side dish packed with flavor, punch and pizzaz. This Carrot Tahini Salad (mildly adapted from this recipe on Smitten Kitchen) pops on your plate with color, nutrition, and is a staple in our house. Vegetarian on its own and perfect when combined with an easy peasy protein. I personally love to double this recipe when we make it so there's salad for the week (instead of 2 days!). It's also very forgiving in terms of amounts. One bunch of parsley works just as well for one batch as a double batch. The same goes for the chickpeas and carrots. Will you be making this? Let me know what you think in the comments.

Carrot Tahini Salad

Ingredients: Roasted Chickpeas 1 15 oz. can of organic chickpeas, drained, rinsed, & patted dry 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 tsp cumin (or more) 2 shakes of cayenne 1 tsp salt Carrot Salad 1 regular sized bag of organic carrots, peeled & grated (or food processed with the grater attachment) 1 bunch parsley, chopped Tahini Dressing 1/4 cup lemon juice (~1.5 juiced lemons) 2-3 garlic cloves, smashed & minced 3 Tbsp well-stirred tahini Extra Virgin Olive Oil Salt & Cayenne to taste Roasted Chickpeas: Heat oven to 425ºF and line a jelly roll sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil. In a bowl, whisk olive oil, cumin, salt, & cayenne. Stir in chickpeas and pour onto sheet. Bake for 15-20 min.or until brown and crisp. This can take anywhere from 15-30 min. depending on your oven. I tend to let them go a little longer than you think you should so they will stay crunchy in the salad the next day. When the chickpeas are darker brown, reduced in size by about 1/3 around the edges of the pan, I remove them to cool. Set aside. Carrot Salad The easiest and fastest way to prepare the carrots is in a food processor with a grater attachment. In lieu of a food processor I strongly recommend grating by hand over buying pre-grated carrots. Freshly grated carrots contain more moisture and taste better than pre-grated carrots (trust me, I've tried it several times). And it's well-worth the effort to hand-grate them. Chop parsley and put both carrots and parsley in a large mixing bowl. Set aside. Tahini Dressing This dressing is simply divine and mixes perfectly with the sweetness of the carrots and the saltiness of the chickpeas. Do the following steps in order so that the dressing emulses well and doesn't fall apart OR you can throw all of the ingredients in a blender or food processor. Whisk the lemon juice, tahini, and garlic (though it doesn't matter when you add the garlic. Slowly pour 2 Tbsp of olive oil into the bowl while you whisk. If it's still too thick, add more olive oil until it's runny like pancake batter or slightly thicker than ranch dressing. Salt & add a pinch of cayenne to taste. Pour into the bowl with carrots. Putting It All Together: In the large carrot bowl, add the cooled chickpeas and mix with a spatula until mixed well. Salt as needed. Serve with roasted chicken, white fish, a burger, or even fried eggs on top.  

Habits First: Screw Willpower

We use salads like this as an easy go-to in our weekly batch cooking so that we always have delicious healthy meals on-hand when we're tired after a long day. You eat the quickest thing that's available after a long day whether it's reaching for greasy take-out or pulling this beautiful, colorful, delicious salad out of the fridge. Match a more involved recipe like this with an easy batch protein, like chicken breasts tossed in your favorite salad dressing, to make meals for days in an hour.  

What say ye???

What will you pair with this salad? Share your thoughts in the comments below.