Carrot, orange and cashew salad

I’m not usually a fan of fruit in salads, but it really works here as the orange pieces are sautéed with the date (or maple) syrup and cumin, which totally changes their texture and taste. They lose their acidity and become soft enough to blend perfectly with the other ingredients. The salad is then dressed with orange juice, too, and it all has a wonderfully sweet feel to it.

SERVES 4 OR MORE

· 4 carrots

· 200g (7oz) raisins

· 5 oranges

· 1 teaspoon ground cumin

· 2 teaspoons date syrup or maple syrup

· 200g (7oz) cashews

· 180g (6¼ oz) pitted olives

· salt and pepper

♥ Peel the carrots then use the peeler to slice them into thin slivers. Place these in a large bowl.

♥ Put the raisins in a bowl of boiling water and let them soak while everything else is being prepared. This makes them much plumper and juicier.

♥ Peel four of the oranges, taking off the pith. Cut the oranges into bite-sized segments and place these in a saucepan with the cumin and date syrup – they don’t need any oil as they have their own juice. Sauté the oranges on a medium heat for about 5 minutes until they’re really nice and soft. Then pour them and all the juices in the pan over the carrots.

♥ Now put the cashews in the same pan (so that they soak up the orange flavour) and cook them on a medium heat, stirring, for about 3 minutes or until they go slightly brown, then add these to the salad too.

♥ Squeeze the juice of the fifth orange on to the salad and mix in the olives. Drain the raisins and stir them in along with some salt and pepper before serving.

TOP TIP As you peel the carrots, rotate them as you go so that the strips stay thin. If you only peel from one place, the strips will be very wide.

Source: dailymail.co.uk