Carrot, Beet and Lentil Salad with Lemon Chermoula Dressing

In Seattle, we have a lovely little fast casual restaurant that is devoted to making tasty sandwiches and salad bowls with locally sourced ingredients. It’s called Homegrown, and on the rare day that I don’t bring my lunch to work, I often find myself walking to the one near my office and ordering either the Chicken Pesto Sandwich, the Spicy Braised Tofu bowl, or the Chermoula Roasted Veggie bowl. This salad is my at-home version of the Chermoula roasted veggie bowl. I’ve swapped out the broccoli for avocado and leaned on epicurious for the lemon chermoula dressing, but other than that, it’s pretty close to the original. I have to thank Homegrown for helping me figure out the lovely combination of shredded beets, roasted carrots, and an herbaceous dressing. The fact that I was able to use carrots and beets from Local Roots Farm in Duvall, Washington made it that much sweeter. If you spend an hour one afternoon or evening prepping the components, you can eat this salad throughout the week for lunch or dinner!

• Arugula

• Baby Kale

• Avocado

• Carrots

• Beet

• Feta Cheese

• Mint

• Cilantro

• Parsley

• Lemon

• Garlic

• Olive Oil

• Coriander Seeds

• Cumin

• Paprilka

• White Wine

• Chicken Stock

• Green lentils

• Butter

• Salt

1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F. Peel and slice carrots into 2 inch length sticks. Slice enough to fill one sheet pan, leaving deliberate space between each stick (if you don’t leave space, your carrots will steam instead of roast). Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and drizzle over carrots along with several healthy grinds of salt. Massage with your hands to evenly coat your carrots, then space evenly and roast for 20 minutes. Flip carrots, then roast for 20 minutes more.

2. Add 1 cup of green lentils to 2¼ cups chicken stock and ¼ cup of dry white wine. Sprinkle with pepper. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 35 minutes. Remove from heat to cool, especially if not all liquid is absorbed.

3. Shout out to epicurious for helping me figure out a delightful lemon chermoula dressing (reprinted here): in a food processor, combine ¾ teaspoon coriander seeds or coriander, ¾ teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon paprika, 2 minced garlic cloves, ¼ teaspoon lemon zest, juice from ½ of a lemon, ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, and ¾ cup olive oil. Puree into a smooth paste. Add 1 cup fresh parsley, 1 cup fresh cilantro, and ½ of a cup of fresh mint. Pulse to form a dressing (herbs should be in fine shreds but not invisible).

4. Peel and shred 1 beet with a grater or mandolin.

5. (For one portion): Add 1 cup Kale, 1 cup arugula, ½ a diced avocado, ¼ cup shredded beets, ¼ sheet pan roasted carrots, ½ cup lentils, 2 ounces of crumbled feta cheese, and 2-3 tablespoons of dressing (don’t be shy!) to a large bowl. Toss to coat evenly, working the dressing and avocado into the vegetables. Plate, and top with a few extra roasted carrots and sprinkles of feta. Enjoy!