Natalie Forté Wellness

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Carrot, Avocado & Orange Salad

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Carrot, Avocado & Orange Salad
 
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I absolutely love this as a side dish for breakfast, lunch & dinner or even as a healthy snack. It's a bit involved but so worth it in my opinion. Plus, once you do it a few times, it won't seem that challenging.
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Ingredients
  • 4 medium garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
  • sea salt
  • 1½ teaspoons cumin seeds, toasted and ground (or already ground cumin)
  • 1½ teaspoons coriander seeds, toasted and ground (or already ground coriander)
  • 1 to 1½ teaspoons red pepper flakes
  • ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 4 bunches young carrots, not peeled, ½ inch of the green tops left on
  • 3 oranges
  • 3 ripe Hass avocados, chilled
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • A handful of small, delicate cilantro sprigs
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400.
  2. Pound the garlic with a healthy pinch on salt in a mortar until you have a wet, fairly smooth paste. You can also do this on a cutting board with a large knife, mincing and scraping. Put the paste in a large mixing bowl.
  3. Add the cumin, coriander, red pepper flakes, and ¼ cup of the olive oil and stir well.
  4. Next, add the carrots and toss well so they’re coated with the oil and spices.
  5. Season with sea salt.
  6. Put the carrots in a large shallow baking dish in one layer.
  7. Scrape out the extra garlic, spices and oil from the bowl and spread evenly on top of the carrots. Pour ¼ cup water into an empty spot in the dish (you don’t want to wash off the tasty oily stuff) and tilt the dish so the water spreads across the bottom.
  8. Cover the dish tightly with foil and put in the oven.
  9. Cook the carrots for 25 minutes.
  10. Take off the foil and keep cooking until the carrots are lightly browned, and about as tender and creamy as avocado flesh, but not so soft that they threaten to fall apart, about 35 minutes more.
  11. While the carrots are roasting, segment the orange as you would a lemon.
  12. Squeeze the membranes into a small bowl to release the juice. Set it aside.
  13. When the carrots are done, take the dish out of the oven and let it sit until the carrots have cooled a bit, but are still warm.
  14. Meanwhile, take the avocados from the fridge. Halve them lengthwise, remove the pits, and peel the halves.
  15. Cut the flesh lengthwise into slices about the same size of the carrots (only if you’re using the young carrots)–the slices should be sturdy enough that they don’t break up when you toss them.
  16. Put the avocado slices in a large mixing bowl and add the reserved orange juice, the lemon juice, the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and a healthy pinch or two of salt.
  17. Toss gently and well with your hands.
  18. Push the avocado to one side of the bowl.
  19. Add the carrots a handful at a time, scraping and tossing them in the beautiful green liquid in the bowl before adding the next handful.
  20. Make sure to scrape out and add all the garlicky spices left in the baking dish.
  21. Toss it all together gently, being careful not to break the avocado slices.
  22. Stack the carrots, avocado, and orange segments on a platter or in a serving bowl so they’re facing this way and that way.
  23. Top with the cilantro and serve right away.
Notes
*If you can’t find the young, small carrots, use whatever fresh carrots with the stems you can find, but use 2 bunches instead of 4 if they’re long carrots

*Do your best to segment the oranges, but sometimes if it’s really juicy, it’s difficult and they fall apart a little, but oh well–I still use them

*You want ripe avocados, but not too ripe b/c then they will fall apart in the salad

*This is great the next couple of days served cold

***I know it’s a long recipe, and can be a bit confusing, but do your best and make it your own!