At this time of year a salad isn’t necessarily top of your list of foods. But it has been pretty mild recently, so a salad could well and truly work. Not to mention that it is British Organic Carrot season so, there is nothing better than eating seasonally, in my opinion. And if you’re anything like my two children, you only want ‘hard’ carrots and not ‘soft’ carrots; they’re all about that raw life.

A bit of a twist on a regular salad, this is crunchy, nutty, spicy and delicious! And with the spices makes it a great autumn dish. This salad will be a new favourite in your recipe repertoire.

Indian Inspired Carrot Salad

Serves 4

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 3 minutes

Ingredients:

• 250g British organic carrots, peeled and grated
• 1 eating apple, cored and chopped
• 1⁄4 cucumber, chopped
• 2 celery sticks, chopped
• 50g raisins or sultanas
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil or olive oil
• 50g plain cashew nuts
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 30g mixed seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, sesame and linseed)

Dressing Ingredients:

• 125g plain coconut yogurt
• 1⁄2 tsp ground turmeric
• Pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Coriander or flat leaf parsley, to garnish

What to do:

1. Put the grated organic carrots into a salad bowl and add the apple, cucumber and celery with the raisins or sultanas. Stir in the lemon juice and sesame oil or olive oil.
2. Heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat and add the nuts and seeds, stirring them to toast for 3-4 minutes to bring out their flavour. Cool, then add them to the salad bowl and toss them through.
3. For the dressing, mix together the yogurt and turmeric with a pinch of salt and pepper. Serve with the salad and garnish with coriander or flat leaf parsley.

Cook’s tip: Add some finely shredded kale or cabbage to go towards your 5-a-day intake.

What do you think to the salad recipe? It would be great to hear what you think.

*collaborative post