Roasted Carrot Salad with Lime Yoghurt Dressing

Sometimes you don't feel like carbs, sometimes you want something light but satisfying to sate you during the hot months of summer. Roasting carrots brings out their innate sweetness but also their deep earthiness, which acts as a rich and solid tapestry to support other more gutsy flavours.

Roasting the carrots alongside onions adds a sweeter, yet sharper note that is made more complex by the addition of sumac, cumin and thyme, respectively adding a sour tang, a fragrant whiff and savoury herbaceousness.

I've included some marinated tomatoes here, because they compliment the dish so well, but you can leave them out and this would still be sufficiently pleasurable. However, having them at hand can brighten up salads, sandwiches, deli platters and cheese boards, so if you do make them you won't be concerned of how to use them.

A dressing this simple yet this satisfyingly complex allows this dish to come together perfectly. Normally I'd encourage you to experiment with a dish but I consider this to be a rather special one. Tamper if you will, but be aware of the delicate balance that is struck here.

Roasted Carrot Salad with Lime Yoghurt Dressing

450g carrots, peeled and sliced lengthways

2 red onions cut in to eights

1 tsp sumac

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp rock salt

1 tbsp sunflower oil#

Turn oven to 180C/Gas Mark 4

Put carrots and onions into a large bowl and pour over the oil.

Bash the sumac, cumin, thyme and salt together in a pestle and mortar.

Tip spice mix in to bowl, mix well.

Tip in to a non stick roasting pan and put in the oven for 30 mins.

Marinated Tomatoes

For every large tomato halved and sliced into half moons:

1 tbsp extra virgin oilve oil

1/2 tbsp white wine vinegar

1 tsp honey

1 tbsp fresh parsley coarsely chopped

Salt and pepper

Put the tomatoes in a sealable container.

Mix all other ingredients together and pour over the tomatoes, giving a good but gentle mix. 

Leave for at least 2 hours before serving. 

Do not refrigerate. 

Lime Yoghurt Dressing

Juice of 1/2 a lime

2 tbsp Greek yoghurt

1 1/2 tsp tahini 

Salt and pepper

Mix them all together, season to taste

To construct, put carrots and onions on bottom, layer with equivalent 1 marinated tomato, drizzle with half the dressing and garnish with chopped flat leaf parsley.