Two Moroccan Salads

I've been reading Claudia Roden's latest cookbook, Arabesque, this week. This one focuses on the foods of Morocco, Turkey and Lebanon. She says in a New Yorker interview that she had wanted to include Iran and Syria but her American editors squashed that, so she threatened to write a different book about "the Cooking of the Axis of Evil." I love Claudia Roden!

Among the lamb, fish and elaborately wrought composed dishes like fatta, she also includes simple recipes that should be in the frugal cook's repertoire. I made a long list of these and will be publishing them in the Frugal Food series over the next weeks.

The following Moroccan salads are not only simple, inexpensive and tasty, they are seasonal for winter, when this post was written. It's better for your pocketbook and better for the planet to eat foods in season.

Carrot Salad with Cumin and Garlic (Jazar Bil Kamoun Wal Toum)
Carrots with Garlic and Mint (Jazar Bil Na'na)

Carrot Salad with Cumin and Garlic - serves 4 to 6

5 large carrots (about 1 1/4 pounds)
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
salt and black pepper
juice of 1/2 lemon

Peel or wash and scrape the carrots and trim off the tops and tails. Cut into sticks. Boil in salted water for 10 to 15 minutes, until tender but not too soft. Drain.

In a large skillet, heat the oil and put in the carrots, garlic, cumin and some salt and pepper. Saute on a medium-high heat, stirring and turning the carrots over, until the garlic just begins to color.

Sprinkle with lemon juice and serve cold.

Carrots with Garlic and Mint

1 pound carrots
salt
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon dried mint
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Prepare carrots as above. Boil in just enough water to cover, salted, with pot lid on, for 10 minutes. Uncover to let liquid reduce, simmer about 10 more minutes.

Add garlic, mint, olive oil and more salt to taste if needed, then cook a few minutes longer.

Comments

[Richard Silverstein]

What a shame that Rhoden couldn't include Iran & Syria in her cookbook as their cuisine is marvelous I'm sure.

BTW, I wanted to ask if you saw the NYT article about the food of Lebanon as prepared here in the U.S. south by first & 2nd generation Lebanese-Americans. Pretty cool stuff.

[Alison Chaiken]

There was a great CD a couple of years ago called (IIRC) "Songs from the Axis of Evil" and featuring music of Iran, Iraq, N. Korea, etc. I believe that all the songs were lullabies.