ROASTED CARROTS WITH SUMAC CUCUMBER & PRESERVED LEMON DRESSING

SERVES 6 / PREPARATION 15 MINUTES / COOKING 15-20 MINUTES

I’ve used regular orange baby carrots, but if you can get your hands on mixed coloured ones, they would be wonderful too. Find preserved lemons at specialty food stores, or make your own in advance (I have a recipe on my site mydarlinglemonthyme.com). To make this dish vegan, use brown rice syrup or raw sugar in the dressing.

2 bunches baby carrots, washed well and tops trimmed off to 2cm (you can use the tops to make pesto or simply compost) 2 tablespoons olive oil

PRESERVED LEMON DRESSING

1 preserved lemon, flesh discarded,

skin roughly chopped

½ teaspoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons honey or brown rice syrup or raw sugar 60ml (¼ cup) freshly squeezed lemon juice 125ml (½ cup) extra virgin olive oil

SUMAC CUCUMBER

½ telegraph cucumber, finely diced a handful mint leaves, finely chopped

plus extra leaves to serve a handful flat-leafed parsley leaves,

finely chopped plus extra leaves to serve ½ teaspoon sumac

Preheat oven to 200℃. Arrange the carrots on two oven trays, drizzle with olive oil, season with fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Roast for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden and tender.

Place all the ingredients for the dressing in a blender or small food processor and blend on high until smooth, thick and creamy. It shouldn’t need extra seasoning as the preserved lemons are salty, but taste and add a little more if you think it’s needed.

Combine sumac cucumber ingredients in a bowl and stir through a couple of tablespoons of preserved-lemon dressing.

To serve, arrange roasted carrots on a platter, scatter over the sumac cucumber and a few extra mint and parsley leaves. Serve with extra preserved lemon dressing on the side.