Last year, when I was in Marrakech with a good friend, we had a Moroccan carrot salad among other mezze before a delicious chicken and olive tagine. My first bite of these tart, tender carrots gave me heart-eyes. I was in food love. The other salads, all made of cooked and marinaded veggies and pulses like zucchini, roasted peppers and lentils.

I’ll be working on some of them in the future.

Sometimes the cold starter plates are the best part of the meal. Just enough to pique your hunger, they’re often addictive flavor-bombs. Spicy Korean kimchi, creamy Mexican guacamole, smoky Turkish baba ghanoush… and earthy, zesty Moroccan carrots.

Even in the still heat of Morocco in August, it was hard to stop myself from gorging on tangy, spiced vegetables and stay level-headed about the tagine to come.

I’m still not sure mine will ever live up in my mind to the carrots we enjoyed on a Marrakesh rooftop on that hot summer’s night, but I don’t want them to. Traveling is about oversized memories of otherwise mundane moments.

You don’t need a full on North African meal to enjoy your own Moroccan carrot salad – it’s a lovely side to have for lunch with a sandwich, or with a roast beast (or veggie beast) for dinner.

The carrots need at least a few hours to soak up all that spice and tang. It’s worth it to be rewarded with complexity that’s hard to find in a typical cooked carrot.

I compared a few different ways of making these, and steaming and boiling gave me the same results in texture and flavor, so I prefer to steam them to keep nutrients from being thrown away with the boiled water.

This recipe was adapted from one in a Moroccan cookbook that, unfortunately, I don’t know the name of. (But thanks to Mimouna for sharing it with me!)

Serves 4

Savory Moroccan carrot salad

10 minPrep Time

10 minCook Time

2 hr, 20 Total Time

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On the Counter

• 500 g (~1 lb) carrots
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 1 clove finely minced garlic
• fresh parsley, chopped finely
• 1/2 tsp milled or table salt

What to Do

• Lightly salt the carrots.
• Steam them for 5-7 minutes, until crispy-tender.
• Mix up a dressing with the olive oil, cumin, paprika, garlic, salt, lemon juice and vinegar
• Rinse the carrots under cold water, then shake them as dry as you can.
• Toss them with the dressing and fresh parsley.
• Let the carrots marinade in the refrigerator for at least an hour, but they will taste better if you can leave them in for longer. I actually prefer them even more the next day.

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https://www.onmykitchencounter.com/2016/02/29/savory-moroccan-carrot-salad/

International blogger woes: Should I use the American names for ingredients or the British names? There’s a lot to consider (believe it or not), including what people will search for, and if I lose out on people because you might not know what I’m talking about.

And, on a totally unrelated note … fava beans, known in the UK as broad beans, are finally back in season. Whatever you call them, they are delicious and full of goodness.

Fava beans/broad beans are high in fiber and iron, and low in sodium and fat. They’re also loaded with protein – so much so that in Sicily, they were called poor man’s meat.

I actually used to hate them, until I realized that you could (and should, really) remove the outer thick shell. The difference in taste is dramatic.

The shells are edible, but they give broad beans a bitter taste and hide the natural sweetness of the inner bean.

Getting these little suckers out of those shells is the most time-consuming part of the whole process, and it’s the only thing that keeps this from being a 10 minute start-to-finish recipe. I’d suggest putting on a podcast and/or getting someone to pitch in.

In this incarnation, I’ve paired broad beans / fava beans with similar ingredients to a pesto, and served it on toasted homemade bread. Definitely don’t bother using sliced supermarket bread, get out there and get a nice crusty loaf from the bakery.

Have it as a snack or a starter. It keeps well in the fridge, and I like having it when I get home from work, especially if dinner is a long way away.

Serves: 4
Time: 20 minutes from start to finish

On the Counter

500 g fresh broad beans (fava beans) in their pods
1 small clove garlic, pressed or minced
Juice from 1/4 lemon
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp salt, plus more to taste
Small handful of parsley, chopped
4 slices crusty bread

What to Do

Take the beans out of their pods.

In a pot of boiling water, cook them for 2 minutes. They shouldn’t need any more time. Drain and rinse them with cold water to cool them down and stop the cooking process.

Remove the bright green bean halves from their shells. (It doesn’t matter if they break along the way.) Discard the shells, and add the beans, salt, lemon juice, garlic, parsley and olive oil into a wide-bottomed bowl or a food processor bowl and stir.

Crush everything lightly with a potato masher or use a food processor, though I prefer using a potato masher. Don’t mash it into a pulp, as some texture makes it look (and taste) better.

Meanwhile, if you’re serving it immediately, toast a few slices of crusty bread. You can drizzle it with more olive oil if you’re feeling decadent, but it’s good without, too.

You can also store it in the fridge for several days. After a few hours in the fridge, the lemon and garlic will be more pronounced.

Broccoli after….

And broccoli before. (Time travel!)

It is definitely the post-holiday season. And I can’t believe I’m saying this… but I wish it would snow. It’s been gray and rainy and typically wintery, except that the temperatures in London have been pretty mild. It’s perpetual autumn! When I first came here in the winter, I was actually pretty happy with it… being able to stand outside for more than 5 minutes without feeling like your nose would fall off was a huge perk. You always want what you can’t have though, and now I’m missing delayed openings and snowy mornings.

On the topic of things I miss, I recently found a deli near my office that has freshly-made sandwiches! That’s probably one of the biggest things I miss from back home… knowing that I can choose what goes into my sandwich, and that it’s being made for me, not for the display counter. Long live local sandwich shops.

But now, onto what you’re actually here for – the recipe. While maybe you’re thinking broccoli isn’t that exciting, or that you could never serve it to person-in-your-life-who-hates-broccoli, all I can say is: Try it roasted. Seriously. This is not your grandma’s boiled broccoli that makes the kitchen smell like a locker room. I have even converted a sworn enemy of broccoli with this recipe. True story.

PS: If you’re a strict vegetarian, you can skip the Parmesan entirely (it’ll still be tasty!), or replace it with a hard cheese that’s made without animal rennet.

Roasted broccoli with garlic and Parmesan

1 head of broccoli (about 250 g or 9 oz), cut into florets
2 medium garlic cloves (about 2 tsp or 10 g), minced
1 tbsp olive oil (not extra virgin)
sprinkling of cayenne pepper OR pine nuts (optional)
1 tsp ground sea salt or table salt
juice from 1/2 lemon
a small mound of grated Parmesan cheese (or vegetarian hard cheese)

What to do

Toss the broccoli florets in minced garlic, olive oil, pine nuts/cayenne and salt.

Spread the broccoli out in one layer on a baking sheet or wide baking dish.

Roast for 20-25 minutes at 200 C or 400 F. It’s ready once the blossoms turn slightly brown and toasty, and they are fork tender.

Squeeze on lemon juice, toss, and top with parmesan. Serve!

Christmas is in the air… and on TV … and in the stores… and in the town centers. I have to admit that I’m one of those people who likes the season. Back home I always loved driving through neighborhoods searching for great Christmas light displays, though now I have to be content with the big displays around London. Not that I’m complaining…

Covent Garden is completely decked out for Christmas

One of London’s many Christmas trees, larger than life!

This year, when I went home to the US for Thanksgiving, we got some early-season snow, and that plus the Christmas trees and decorations going up around the towns really put me into the Christmas mood.

Nothing like snowy New Jersey woods to get you into the winter spirit

Of course, with all this festivity comes the realization that you might have to bring something (or cook everything) for a holiday dinner sooner than you’re willing to admit. These Brussels sprouts with lots of lovely things should help make that a lot easier. You just have to be sure to claim them first!

I didn’t think I was a big fan of Brussels sprouts for a long time. I don’t really like cabbage, and I just equated them with tiny cabbages. However, they are a lot lighter tasting than cabbage, and they are perfect for roasting and pan frying. Plus, once you add bacon and garlic, how can they not be good?

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Shallots

On the Counter

1 lb/500 g Brussels sprouts
1 long shallot or 2 small round shallots, halved and sliced
2 cloves garlic, diced
2 bacon rashers (4 slices of American bacon) cut into small pieces
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt

baking sheet or roasting tray

What to Do

Heat your oven to 220C (425F). Quarter the Brussels sprouts, and toss with all other ingredients. Spread out in one layer on a baking sheet, foil-lined if you want less clean up later on.

Roast for 20-25 minutes, tossing them around with a wooden spoon about halfway through. Once the Brussels sprouts look soft and browned, and the shallots and bacon are cooked, they are ready to go.

Serve!

If you somehow end up with leftovers, you can turn them into a quick and easy pasta dish for the next day. If you don’t eat pasta, bake a few chicken drumsticks and you’ll have a mini-roast lunch.  

Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Bacon with Pasta

On the Counter

Leftover bacon and shallot Brussels sprouts
Dried penne, ziti or mafalda corta (85 g/3 oz per serving)
A heap of grated parmesan cheese
Juice from 1/4 to 1/6 lemon

What to Do

In a salted pot of boiling water, cook as much pasta as you need for your leftovers, about 85 g/3 oz dried per person.

Meanwhile, heat up the leftover Brussels sprouts.

When your pasta is ready, reserve about 120 mL (1/2 cup) of pasta water.

Drain the pasta and toss in reserved pasta water, 1/2 the parmesan cheese and lemon juice. Stir well to combine. Then toss in the sprouts and gently combine.

Serve, with the remaining parmesan on top.