Come with me to the casbah: Moroccan carrot salad

Yes, she's back on her Moroccan thing ragazzi, what can she say?    Things kind of happen that way.  One should not take this as a sign that Annalena is leaving her Italian roots and going to Northern African cooking, but still... everyone needs a change.   (Incidentally, Annalena has not forgotten about her challenging bread pudding dish.  It's coming.  But she made this today and felt it needed to be shared, as MFK Fisher once said and wrote "not now but NOW").

In the story on Moroccan monkfish, Annalena questioned the provenance of the dish. Not so here, as it comes from Paula Wolfert, who knows more about Moroccan food than perhaps the next five experts on the subject combined.  Normally, her recipes, which are spot on authentic, require enormous commitments of time and ingredients from the cook at home.  They ARE worth it, by the way, but you have to steel yourself for what will be a long stretch.  Not so this one. And it uses one of the vegetables which Annalena feels is subject to the old saying "familiarity breeds contempt."  Yes, we all KNOW carrots. We all LOVE carrots.  How many of us ever FEATURE carrots in a dish?  Annalena is as guilty of this as anyone.  So, here's an attempt to remedy that situation.  This is fairly fast, and easy, and of course, GOOD.

So, you start with a pound and a half of carrots. NOT the little skinny ones.  This is one where those monsters that you use for soup or stock will do. You'd be surprised how few of them you need:  Annalena had four.  Do not slice them.  Put them in a large pan and cover them with water, and add 3-4 whole cloves of unpeeled garlic.  IF the carrots are too long for your pan, then cut them in half, but pay attention while you're cooking.   Scrape them before you put them in the pot.

Bring the pan to a boil, and then lower it to a simmer.  You want to cook them until you can just put a knife through them.  If you've cut them in half, of course, the skinner segment will cook first.  So keep your eye on them, and test from time to time.

Now, make your dressing.  You need smoked paprika here, which you should have in your kitchen anyway. Half a teaspoon please, together with half a teaspoon of sweet paprika, which you should also have.  You can buy it as 'pimenton dulce."  Also, add a quarter teaspoon of cayenne pepper, and half a teaspoon of salt.  Stir this all together.  Annalena also adds half a teaspoon of cinnamon.  This part is optional, but to Annalena's taste, it adds structure to your dressing, rather than sweetness.  Now squeeze in the juice of a lemon and stir this all together.  Taste it and see if it meets with your approval, and if it doesn't, add more of what you think it needs.

When the carrots are ready, let them cool until you can handle them.  Cut the bigger sections in half, lengthwise, and then cut the pieces into rough triangles.  ROUGH is a key word here, ragazzi.  This is simple food, and you want differences in texture and feel.  So put the surgical tools away.    Mix the carrot pieces in with the dressing you just made, and then add olive oil.  Be lavish, and stir as you add it.  Taste again, and once more, adjust the flavors as you like.

You leave this at room temperature until you're ready to serve it.  The cooking destroys some of the pigments that keep the carrots looking bright and golden, and brings out their red color.  This seems to work with the spices you've used, which are "red," don't ya know?

Annalena is presenting these on a plate with leeks vinaigrette and celery root remoulade.  You may have other plans for them, but do plan to use them, ragazzi.  Storage carrots are widely available this time of year, and if you've despaired of how to use them, well...

And she promises: the hearty bread pudding next time.    And Annalena dedicates this one, and the next one, to the Kale King, Jason