Roasted Carrot and Avocado Salad with Citrus Dressing

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Roasted Carrot and Avocado Salad

I made a mistake when we were out shopping last. You see, the store had carrots on a fantastic sale - about 3 lbs for a dollar - so I bought a big bag full. Problem: I bought 7 pounds of carrots.

Luckily, carrots don't spoil quickly but they have been making their way into just about everything. (And we still have 3 1/2 pounds left!)

This is one of those meals. It used up some carrot, some avocado and a little bit of everything else. It was a bit fussy as originally written, but I believe I've toned it down a bit to a nice, workaday meal that entices and satisfies. We had it as a "side" for some chicken scampi and millet, but you could up the greens and throw in a hard-boiled egg or two to make this a veggie-friendly main.

Roasted Carrot and Avocado Salad [printable recipe]

Adapted from 2009 Food & Wine Annual Cookbook, Recipe by Jamie Oliver
Serves 2 as a main part of a meal, 4 to 6 as a side

Carrots

  • 1 pound medium carrots, scrubbed, peeled and chopped into coins
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 1 chile de arbol OR 1/4 tsp crushed red chile flakes
  • 2 large cloves of garlic, crushed
  • 1/2 tsp thyme
  • 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • salt, pepper
  • 1 tsp each orange zest and lemon zest

Dressing

  • 1 orange
  • 1 lemon
  • 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • salt, pepper

Salad

  • 2 1/2" thick slices of ciabatta bread OR 2 english muffins OR your favorite stale bread
  • 2 medium avocados, halved, pitted and cut into small chunks
  • at least 4 cups of greens of your choice, to your taste1
  • 2 tbsp sunflower seeds
  • 1 tbsp sesame seeds
  • 1 tbsp poppy seeds

Preparing the carrots

Preheat the oven to 375F. In a lidded pot or skillet, simmer the carrots in salted water for 8 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and transfer to a sheet pan or roasting pan large enough to allow the carrots to rest in a single layer.

Combine the cumin, chile or chile flakes, salt, pepper, olive oil, red wine vinegar, crushed garlic and zest. Pour over the carrots and toss to coat.

Roast the carrots for 25 minutes until they're tender.

Preparing the dressing

Juice the orange and lemon together to acquire about 1/3 cup (or slightly more) of juice. Combine with salt, pepper, red wine vinegar and oil, whisking or shaking well to combine (if using a dressing bottle).

Preparing the salad

Toast the sesame seeds, sunflower seeds and poppy seeds in a dry cast-iron skillet over low heat until fragrant. Toast the bread and tear/cut it into bite-size chunks.

In a salad bowl, combine salad greens, avocados, bread, roasted carrots (with their dressing), and the seed mix. Toss to combine well and serve with dressing.

Notes:

  1. We used green cabbage that had been lightly crushed. Great choices for this salad would be anything peppery and tangy - spinach with arugula, spring mix, mesclun, etc.