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Portugese / Moroccan Style Carrots

When you sit down in most restaurants in Portugal, you are presented with some bread and a selection of things to nibble on – this can range from some sardine or cheese spread and a few olives, to cheese and home made pates, and often, a small bowl of these delicious marinated carrots.

I think they may have originated in Morocco as I have found a similar recipe in a book which describes them as Moroccan Carrots – given that there are many Moorish influences in this part of Portugal I think it more than likely.

You need:

3 peeled carrots, salt and pepper, 3 tablespoons of good extra virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon of wine vinegar (red or white,) a finely chopped clove of garlic, half a teaspoon of cumin and a handful of coriander or parsley or a mixture of both.

Boil the carrots in salted water for long enough for them to soften but retain some bite, drain them and leave them to steam dry and then cool. Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix the cumin, oil, garlic, a pinch of salt and pepper, and the wine vinegar (white is usually used but we have had good results with red also.) Once this is mixed, finely chop the herbs (coriander is used usually but the parsley works nearly as well,) and add them to the mixture.

Once the carrots have cooled, add them to the mixture then put everything in a serving dish and chill for a couple of hours or overnight. Enjoy on their own or with a chunk of bread as a starter, and use within a day or two.

This is one of those recipes that is more than the sum of its parts, and all of those parts are the kind of thing you have lying around in the kitchen. I hope you enjoy it.

I found the Moroccan version of this recipe in a fantastic cookery book full of recipes which only require 3 or 4 ingredients –  perfect for credit crunch times or those reluctant cooks. Click the link below to find this book on Amazon.

400 Three and Four Ingredient Recipes