A bowl of this salad makes a great lunch along with a slice of good sourdough or it would make a lovely accompaniment for some pan-fried fish for dinner. Lois writes that the flavour of the carrots is enhanced if you cook them whole in their skins, but if you’re pressed for time, peel and cut them diagonally before cooking.

Carrot salad with parsley & olives (Lois Daish, as read on National Radio, October 19 2007)

4 medium carrots

handful flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

grated zest of half a lemon

6 black olives, stoned and sliced, or 1 tablespoon capers

Dressing:

1 large clove garlic, crushed to a paste with salt

a pinch of ground cumin and a pinch of paprika

juice of 1 large lemon

1 teaspoon honey or sugar

dash of Tabasco or chilli

1/4 cup olive oil

 Wash the carrots and put in a pot covered with water. Boil until just tender when poked with a sharp fork. Drain and run under cold water until cool enough to pull and scrape off the skins. Slice into a bowl. Put the dressing ingredients in a jar and shake to mix. Pour over the carrots while they are still warm.  Just before serving, add the parsley leaves, grated lemon zest and optional black olives or capers. May be served warm, at room temperature, or stored in the refrigerator for a day before serving.