Moroccan Ribboned Carrot Raddicchio Salad - FOOD PHOTO SHOOT

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Sorry about that, but at least be glad that I didn’t make it as long as I could have. See, I always want to be super descriptive with you guys about the recipes I’m sharing and today’s recipe just happened to have a lot of star-worthy players in it. I actually could have made it twice as long. Something like “Moroccan Ribboned Carrot, Raddichio, Kale Salad with Tahini Blood Orange Dressing + Honey & Spice Nuts & Seeds”! Now that is quite a mouthful, right? So in reality you should thank me for sparing you that tongue twister. You’re welcome. 😉

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So a few years ago I tried my first Moroccan spiced dish at Epcot with my mom. It was some type of couscous and chickpea thing, very yellow, but I fell in love with it. Ever since then I’ve had fun trying different flavors and traditional dishes that are similar and then creating my own fusion style recipes as well. Basically, I just love exploring the world’s flavors.

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With Easter right around the corner and Spring arriving soon, I wanted to make something using a bunch of the fresh greens that I always seem to neglect. Tell me if this is just me, but do you ever walk through the produce section looking at all the variety and think, ‘How in the world does anyone use all these things????’ Well I used to until I started trying to knock off each untried item on my list. One that I had never tried before was Radicchio. On first glance it looks much the same as red cabbage, but once you cut into it you’ll notice it has a much more delicate leaf and the flavor has a little sharper bite to it. Also, the inner core can be quite bitter so be sure to cut around it for the best results.

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I think this can be said about most typical American households, but growing up my family’s usual fruits that we’d keep on hand consisted of apples, bananas, and sometimes clementines or grapes. As for veggies, broccoli was about it, with the occasional head of iceberg lettuce or bag of carrot sticks.

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Not gonna lie, most of my younger brothers and sisters still consider any vegetation in their meal as a garnish for eye-appeal rather than something to be consumed and I’d probably die of shock if I could get my dad to try a carrot based salad like this. Hey, but that’s alright with me, I personally enjoy eating the rainbow in a form other than Skittles and I genuinely love my veggies. If you’re not into vegetables then maybe we can’t be friends. I guess you’ll just have to go. Totally JK, lol. Please stay, I know I’ve got lots of brownies and cookie recipes that you might like so please feel free to check those out.

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However, I’m guessing if you’re reading this far you probably have some interest in this recipe so let me tell you about it. I know it sounds ridiculously complicated by the title, but it’s actually fairly fast and simple. There’s no cooking required, minus toasting the nuts and seeds which takes all of about 3 minutes, so it’s quick. The prep is simply washing and chopping a few different vegetables and stirring together the dressing before you mix it all together and serve.

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I thought this might be a nice new side dish to try on your Easter table this year. You could also throw in some chickpeas or other beans to finish this off as a light and colorful meal. Also, the veggies can be traded with any that you prefer. Carrots and kale aren’t your thing and you can’t find raddichio? No worries, you could even just make the dressing and spiced nuts to put on you’re favorite garden salad mix. However you want to try it, you definitely should give it a chance.

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Moroccan Ribboned Carrot Raddicchio Salad + Blood Orange Dressing
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Yield: 4 - 6 servings

Change up your routine garden salad with this colorful blend of textures, spices, and flavors.

Ingredients

Blood Orange Dressing:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium blood oranges, juiced
1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
3 tablespoons honey (or maple syrup)
2 tablespoons tahini
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon garam masala
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon fresh mint, chopped
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or more to taste
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Spiced Nuts & Seeds:
2 teaspoons coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup pepitas
1/3 cup pecans
Salad:
4 large carrots, ribboned (about 2 cups)
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
1 small head radicchio, roughly chopped
4 medium kale leaves, stems removed and chopped
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup finely chopped dates
Instructions

Blood Orange Dressing:
Combine all the ingredients in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake it very well to mix. Another method is to just mix it in a bowl with a whisk and both methods work fine but I usually go for the jar because you can then store it as it is in your fridge (-> Less dishes!)
Spiced Nuts & Seeds:
In a small skillet, melt the coconut oil over low heat. Add the spices, hone, and nuts and stir gently over heat for 3-4 minutes until toasted. Set aside to cool.
Salad:
Toss all the ingredients for the salad together in a large bowl.
When ready to serve add the dressing and toasted nuts/seeds and toss the salad to coat everything, or if preferred you can serve the dressing on the side.
Store the dressing and salad separately in air-tight containers in the fridge until ready to serve. It should stay pretty fresh like that for 2-3 days.

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For more great food ideas, please do not forget to look at my other recent food posts
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Chocolate Oats & Honey Cut-Out Cookies (GF+Vegan)
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Traditional Greek Lamb Gyros + Tzatziki Sauce
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Homemade 'Nilla Wafers with Banana Pudding
Carrot & Lentil Salad with Indian Curry Tahini Dressing w/ Vegan Option
ALL CONTENT IS MINE AND ORIGINAL! All of these food photos were taken with my Nikon D750 and my favorite Lens, the Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8G. You can find out more in my INTRO POST.

And, by the way, to all the minnows out there, my intro post did a huge $0.21. The key to success on Steemit is to be consistent and persistent. Click on the link below for some great tutorials on how you can also succeed on the steem blockchain:

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