Backyard chargrilled carrot salad

Our first married abode was a tall terrace at the top of the hill, overlooking the city. I remember obsessing over a garden the whole time we lived there. If only I had a garden rather than a slab of concrete then life would be complete. Well now I have a little garden and find myself thinking about other things I might want. There’s a lesson for me in this; to count blessings and appreciate the present. Trite and a little smug sounding, but important stuff. This is a salad we used to eat in our perfectly serviceable yard when friends came over for lunch.

INGREDIENTS

365g carrots, trimmed and peeled

15ml groundnut oil

100g sultanas

45ml fresh orange juice

30g fresh coriander

20g flaked almonds

METHOD

I cut my carrots lengthways using a mandolin. I love the rhythmic action and pleasing skinniness of the slices. But a knife will do the job with a steady hand. You want your long slices to be as thin as possible. Coat the carrots in the groundnut oil and chargrill on a very hot griddle pan, a few at a time. A frying pan also works fine but there’ll be no griddle marks. You’re aiming to just mark the carrots before placing them into a waiting serving dish, so only griddle for a scant minute on each side.

Meanwhile, heat the sultanas in a small saucepan with the orange juice until almost all the liquid is absorbed. Add this to the serving dish. Sprinkle the fresh coriander into the serving dish and toss it all together using clean hands. Top with the flaked almonds and serve whilst still slightly warm and before the coriander wilts.

#normalmum #sultanas #orangejuice #coriander #carrot