Since it was in the mid-90s on Thursday, I decided to shift from sheet pan roasted vegetables to cool salads. I made my usual parsley forward tabbouleh and looked through a bunch of recipes to find a carrot salad that was not icky sweet.

I found a recipe on the NYTimes cooking site and adapted it for our use by cutting down on the oil, substituting mint for parsley, omitting hard boiled eggs and olives for garnish, and adding dried cranberries. I also left the cumin seeds whole for some texture.

Moroccan Carrot Salad adapted from a recipe by Martha Rose Shulman

1 pound carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon, divided, extra virgin olive oil (to taste)
2 large garlic cloves, minced
Salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon cumin seeds, lightly toasted
2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (to taste)
1/4 cup chopped mint and 1/4 cup dried cranberries

Place the carrots in a steamer above 1 inch of boiling water, cover and steam 5 minutes until tender. Remove from the heat, rinse with cold water, and drain on paper towels.

Heat 1 teaspoon of the olive oil and some olive oil spray in a large, heavy skillet and add the garlic and cumin seeds. Cook, stirring, until the garlic and cumin seeds smell fragrant, and then stir in the carrots, pepper, and salt to taste. Stir together for a few minutes, until the carrots are nicely seasoned. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice, remaining 2 teaspoons of olive oil, and the mint. Add plumped dried cranberries. Taste and adjust salt and lemon juice as desired. Serve at room temperature.

Our dinner with two salads and the sautéed chicken cutlets was delicious. However making the salads was a lot more time consuming than simply putting some vegetables on a sheet pan in the oven. But the kitchen stayed relatively cool and I have discovered a carrot salad that I want to make again!