Moroccan Carrot Salad

I saw this on "Girl Meets Farm" on Food Network on the weekend.  I guess she's calling it "Moroccan" because of the harissa paste?  I thought it looked really delish, so put it on my to-do list.  I followed the recipe as is with a couple of my own tweaks:

• 1 tablespoon Trader Joe's "Traditional Tunisian Harissa"

• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 lb bag of organic carrots, peeled

• 3 tablespoons olive oil 
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped finely

• Juice of 1/2 lemon and zest
• 1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped 
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh chives, snipped with scissors (my own addition)
• 1 tablespoon of organic honey (this was my own addition as I wanted a little sweetness after tasting the dressing.  This wouldn't be needed if the carrots were super sweet but mine weren't)
• Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

I took a dutch oven and boiled some water.  I turned the timer on for 10 minutes right then.  I put in some salt, the carrots and cooked until the timer rang and they were crisp tender.  I then drained, and plunged them into a bowl of ice water.

I drained again, dried and sliced them into rounds.  In a salad bowl, I whisked the olive oil, harissa, garlic, lemon juice, zest, honey, herbs, chives and S&P to taste. 

I mixed in the carrots until well coated.  In hindsight, I would have put the herbs in last, but too late this time.  So, I chopped more cilantro.  I checked the seasoning - more S&P.  Now I put the cilantro in and did one final toss.

I did a sprinkle of the sesame seeds over top when serving.  She said this is better made ahead so the flavors can develop so I put it in the fridge, covered with wrap.    

This was delicious!  Spicy, sweet, garlicky and herbaceous.  Perfect side dish for sure.  The flavors did develop and tasted even better the next day.  This is a keeper.  My advice is to make sure you don't let those carrots get mushy.  They need to be crisp, just not raw.