Amoura's carrot and avocado salad gets added pizzazz from sheep's milk feta and plenty of fresh dill. (Courtesy Amoura)
Eastern Mediterranean flavors are always welcome, especially at this time of year, as summer ebbs into autumn. The calendar may call it fall, but with daytime temps in the sultry digits and evenings crisp and cool, our cravings swing wildly between salad season and oven roasts.
This avocado and roasted carrot salad may be the answer.
It hails from Amoura, Sam Shihadeh’s restaurant and catering company in South San Francisco. Amoura’s seasonal menu showcases dishes from the family’s native Palestine and the Eastern Mediterranean. Think prosciutto-topped flatbreads as well as fattoush and skewered meats.
The recipe calls for feta cheese, fresh dill, creamy avocados, roasted carrots and Persian cucumbers, which are smaller and more tender than your run-of-the-mill cuke and have few seeds. Tossed with a light vinaigrette and sprinkled with sesame seeds, this colorful salad can be made for just one or two people, or doubled, tripled or more to serve a crowd.
Amoura’s Carrot Avocado Salad
Serves 1 to 2
INGREDIENTS
2 ounces carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
2½ ounces extra virgin olive oil, divided use
½ ounce red wine vinegar
Sea salt, pepper
1 avocado, peeled and cut into chunks
2 ounces Persian cucumbers, sliced thin
1 ounce sheep’s milk feta, divided use
2 sprigs fresh dill, divided use
1 pinch sesame seeds, toasted (Amoura uses a mix of black and white)
DIRECTIONS
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Toss carrots with 1 ounce olive oil, then spread in a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast until tender but before they start to color, about 35 minutes. Let cool.
To make the dressing, mix the red wine vinegar and remaining olive oil, whisking to blend. Season with salt and pepper.
Combine the cooled carrots with the avocado, cucumber, half the feta and the fronds from one sprig of dill. Add the dressing and toss to combine, mixing well.
Top the salad with remaining feta and dill, then sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.
— Courtesy Amoura, South San Francisco
Originally published at Jackie Burrell