Serious Eats: Carrot Salad with Avocado

- Merrill

Today, I bring you another recipe from Serious Eats, which this past week proved an indispensable resource for Amanda and me as we made our way up the West Coast on our own book tour (one of the highlights: The Crumpet Shop in Seattle). Last week, Amanda extolled the virtues of the cubano mixto, but this time we're going highbrow, with ABC Kitchen's transcendent roasted carrot and avocado salad. We loved the technique of roasting some of the citrus before adding it to the tart-sweet dressing, and the smattering of crunchy sunflower and sesame seeds against a backdrop of sweet, yielding carrot and silky avocado, makes for a textural combination that keeps you coming back for another bite.

Carrot Salad with Avocado

Adapted from Serious Eats by Ed Levine; recipe from ABC Kitchen in New York City

Serves 4

• 2 pounds small carrots (3 to 4 inches, ½ inch thick), or large carrots quartered and cut into 3-inch segments, peeled (about 4 cups)
• Kosher salt
• 1 orange
• 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 2 medium garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 avocado, cut into 12 wedges
• 2 cups mixed baby sprouts, herbs, and microgreens
• 4 tablespoons crème fraiche
• 2 tablespoons toasted sunflower seeds
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
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See the full recipe (and save and print it) here.

Photo by James Ransom