Avocado

Carrot Avocado Salad

November  9, 2011
5
10 Ratings
Photo by James Ransom
  • Serves 4
Author Notes

This recipe is from Serious Eats' new cookbook, courtesy of ABC Kitchen in New York City. 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. —Merrill Stubbs

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 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
  • 1/2 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
Directions
  1. Adjust an oven rack to the center position and preheat the oven to 450°F. Place the carrots in a saucepan and cover them with cold water. Season with salt, set over high heat, and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the carrots are tender, about 10 minutes. Drain the carrots and transfer them to a medium bowl.
  2. Cut the orange and lemon in half and juice half of each one, reserving the juice and the unjuiced halves, and discarding the juiced halves. Combine the cumin, garlic, thyme, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the red wine vinegar, red pepper, 1 teaspoon of the orange juice, and 1 teaspoon of the lemon juice in a blender and blend until smooth. Season the marinade to taste with salt and pepper. Add the marinade and the unjuiced citrus halves to the carrots and toss to combine. Spread the carrots and citrus halves on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until the carrots are slightly shriveled with a few brown spots, about 20 minutes. Allow the carrots to cool to room temperature.
  3. Meanwhile squeeze the juice from the roasted citrus halves into a small bowl. Add the remaining fresh orange juice, lemon juice, remaining 6 tablespoons olive oil, and the sugar. Season the dressing to taste with salt and pepper, and whisk to combine.
  4. Divide the carrots and avocado slices onto four plates. Divide the greens among the plates on top of the carrots and avocado. Add a tablespoon of crème fraiche to each salad. Sprinkle sunflower seeds and sesame seeds over each plate.
  5. Drizzle several tablespoons of dressing over and around each salad (reserve any remaining dressing for another use), and serve immediately.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • EmilyNunn
    EmilyNunn
  • TheWimpyVegetarian
    TheWimpyVegetarian
  • rainydayfriend
    rainydayfriend
  • Amy Schleider
    Amy Schleider
  • cristibenedetti
    cristibenedetti

26 Reviews

Megan October 4, 2020
I made this, loved it like everyone else in the comments. The next time I made it, I had to make some adjustments-it still turned out great, so I thought I’d share:
- used a lemon/lemon juice only, no orange
- ground cumin vs. cumin seeds
- oregano vs. thyme
- Greek yogurt vs. creme fraiche
- for the dressing, I made a vinaigrette: 2 tbsp olive oil, 1-3/4 tbsp lemon juice, 3/4 Dijon mustard, 2 garlic cloves, and salt and pepper to taste

In other words, recipe is robust and easy to adjust to your tastes!
 
B W. July 22, 2019
Whole Foods gluten free Boom Boom shrimp, speedily deep fried without guilt, makes this salad glorious. I serve on a bed og Butter/Boston lettuce. Yum
 
Sugar September 14, 2015
I added some caramelized onions, its was beautiful
 
Diane Z. January 20, 2015
Omg this is soooo good. Seemed a little laborious and the carrots weren't great on their own but together...worth it !!
 
amp156 October 22, 2014
I love this salad at ABC Kitchen and made at home, however, the carrots themselves have become a revalation and have become a part of my regular rotation.
 
Nancy July 6, 2014
Like several others, I was skeptical about this salad but absolutely the sum is better than the parts. It was fantastic and worth every second. We served it to vegan friends who left the creme fraiche off and thought it was great without it. There's no way I'm skipping the creme fraiche though!
 
kgindermaur July 7, 2013
By themselves I tend to think avocados are too bland, but the dressing and carrots with marinade really brings out a buttery sweetness in the avocados I hadn't detected before. And I have to admit that this felt like a lot of work for a salad, but it's just so darn delicious that you'll be able to convince anyone sharing that salad with you to do the dishes for you!
 
sashimi January 21, 2013
This salad is brilliant! The carrots were so good that I had to make another batch the next day. Couldn't stop eating them. That marinade really makes all the difference!
 
Kevin F. December 16, 2012
That dressing rocks, Merrill. It's so simple but we've been putting it on everything. We have a boatload of cranberries from our CSA, which we normally would have let rot. But a green leaf salad with cranberries and your dressing is perfect. The sweetness and the acidity cuts the tartness of the berries.
 
rederin June 12, 2012
This is deelish. I almost drank the marinade out of the blender. I'm going to incorporate it into my dressing rotation. I love roasted carrots, and the whole thing came together beautifully. I used some left over pesto aoli instead of creme fraiche. While that tasted great, I think a mild, creamy addition would have been better. Yum!
 
EmilyNunn June 4, 2012
Salad of my dreams. Saving, tweeting, making.
 
TheWimpyVegetarian February 7, 2012
Made this for dinner tonight and made a half recipe since it was just for me. Ate the whole thing and wanted more. This was GREAT!
 
stlfoodiegirl February 6, 2012
I've been obsessed with this since having it at ABC Kitchen! Thanks so much for the recipe. It was delicious.
 
rainydayfriend February 2, 2012
This is my new favorite salad. The carrots alone were amazing — I was honestly surprised by how good the citrus-cumin marinade was. I might have to make the roast carrots like this all the time from now on.
 
Amy S. January 15, 2012
Shalini you are on the money. Each ingredient does come through in this recipe. I just inhaled it a half hour ago. A wide variety of flavors on the plate you will find play off each other so well. I even like the heat. Its all there. In my kitchen tonight I was out of cumin seed so I used ground cumin and in place of sunflower seeds I used toasted walnuts. Its according to what you have on hand or prefer. Other than that I followed the steps/ingredients and the carrots were tender and so delicious. Do the parboil before hand. I would make this again.
 
cristibenedetti January 8, 2012
I just ate this salad a couple of days ago at ABC Kitchen in NYC. It was fantastic!
 
Rosebuddd January 8, 2012
Made this last night and it was great. I did not boil the carrots ahead of time and I think it would have saved me time in the oven, as they took a little longer to roast than if I had blanched them ahead of time. Other than that-the flavors were great and I loved the roasted citrus.
 
Rosebuddd January 8, 2012
Made this last night and it was great. I did not boil the carrots ahead of time and I think it would have saved me time in the oven, as they took a little longer to roast than if I had blanched them ahead of time. Other than that-the flavors were great and I loved the roasted citrus.
 
TheWimpyVegetarian January 2, 2012
I totally missed this wonderful looking salad, Merrill! I'm heading to the store now to get some carrots...:-)
 
KateC December 15, 2011
Aside some minor modifications, the above recipe is indeed from Jamie Oliver as already noticed by another cook:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/jamie-at-home/roast-carrot-and-avocado-salad-with-orange-and-lemon-dressing-recipe/index.html

 
KayeSyrah November 17, 2011
Thanks! I've just found my Thanksgiving dinner starter.
 
gluttonforlife November 13, 2011
I tried to replicate this recipe after eating it ABC Kitchen right when it opened, and although it came out pretty well, I see I missed a couple of key steps. So glad you posted this!
 
scott_nickerson November 10, 2011
I'm not sure of the provenance of this recipe but it's exactly the same as a Jamie Oliver one that I have been making for the last few years. Wherever it comes from it's delicious and really good to make in New Zealand right now where I live as there are loads of avocadoes and bunches of little spring carrots in the market.
I have tried (lazy cook that i am) to skip the blanching step but I find it can result in tough leathery, roasted carrots.
 
Shalini November 10, 2011
Every ingredient in this recipe seems to have a delicious purpose, I can almost taste the salad with the citrus and cumin and creamy avocados and sweet roasted carrots and pepitas. Yum! Can't wait to make it.
 
ATG117 November 9, 2011
It is the most perfect salad. I was hooked after trying it at ABC Kitchen almost a year ago. I was wondering whether there was a reason to boil carrots before roasting as opposed to just roasting the carrots through. I do sometimes find that carrots have a bad almost too carroty flavor. Any ideas why?
 
linzarella November 9, 2011
Everything about this salad looks perfect.

I love roasted carrots, but I've never tried boiling them before roasting them. I'm curious to see what effect this has.