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A DELICIOUS FRESH AND TANGY SALAD WITH A TASTE OF THE MEDITERRANEAN

LIKE ALL RECIPES WITH A FEW INGREDIENTS- it’s important to use the best quality you can, otherwise it will taste flat and boring. This wonderfully simple dish has all the taste and zing of spring and the Mediterranean – and it’s VEGAN.

I was recently on my regular cooking duties for a family reunion dinner as my youngest daughter had just returned from a big five month outback adventure with her husband and three boys. There are now 14 of us with varying ages and tastes – especially the children, but I don’t know many that won’t eat raw carrots? I was on the salads and homemade focaccia and was encouraged to make one of these salads when I saw farmer Stan’s beautiful bunches of fresh carrots at the Mullumbimby Farmers’ Market on Friday. The smelled wonderful and tasted even better.

I was also inspired by the recipes in this gorgeous book I had recently been gifted – a wonderful adventure in Greek cuisine, culture and history. OLIVE and CAPER by Susanna Hoffman

RECIPE

  • 1 kilo fresh carrots, scrubbed and put through the coarse grating plate on your food processor.
  • 1 small fennel bulb, finely grated, with the young fronds finely chopped.
  • 6 dried figs, soaked in hot water until plump, then sliced.
  • 2 tablespoons preserved lemon, finely chopped.
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • Salt and pepper
  • A good few glugs of extra virgin olive oil

HOW TO PREPARE

  • Mix it all together and add salt and pepper.
  • When you are ready to serve, sprinkle with the chopped fennel fronds and pour over lemon juice and olive oil.
  • Serve straight away.

EVERYTHING COMES FROM THE GREEK! We all know this from watching the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Even CARROTS are from the Greek word KERAS – meaning a hard and bony projection Apparently, the early Greeks thought that carrots looked like underground antlers.


HERE ARE THE LINKS TO THE TWO OTHER RECIPES I MADE and feature in the top photo:

  1. Easy, no knead FOCACCIA
  2. SPANISH grilled CAPSICUM SALAD, with capers and anchovies