Roasted Carrot and Chickpea Salad with Mint Pesto
Roasted Carrot and Chickpea Salad with Mint Pesto is one of my current favourite dishes.
Aromatic cumin seeds, fruity and warm Aleppo pepper plus refreshing mint, transform earthy root veg and pulses into a great summer salad.
The Mint Pesto that’s the star of the show is dairy-free and made in around ten minutes.
I like wilted spinach in my salad, but you could use other greens like rocket or kale and use them raw as a bed for the fantastically flavoured carrots and chickpeas.
If you like salty, creamy feta, try topping the Roasted Carrot and Chickpea Salad with a few cubes.
Eaten warm or at room temperature, I think you’ll love this easy recipe.
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THE HUMBLE CARROT
I must have eaten carrots every week of my adult life, either raw or cooked.
Inexpensive, versatile and good for you, why wouldn’t I?
But, although I never grow tired of them, I’m always looking for new ways of eating carrots.
Roasting to bring out their natural sweetness is something I do a lot. To balance that sweetness, I’ll often throw in a few spices too.
Fennel seeds are a great favourite of mine, but for my Roasted Carrot and Chickpea Salad with Mint Pesto I’ve used earthy cumin seeds plus fruity and mildly hot Aleppo pepper. If you want more heat or don’t have Aleppo, you can substitute regular dried chilli flakes.
CHICKPEAS
I think chickpeas, with their nutty flavour and buttery texture, are one of the best pulses.
In this salad, half a tin adds protein and makes the dish more filling. When I have the time, I like to slip off the skins as I think they’re nicer without.
Skin on or off, just toss the chickpeas with the carrots and spicy oil then pop the tray back in the oven.
Because I don’t want the chickpeas completely crispy, just lightly roasted, I add them to the tin after the carrots are well on their way.
But feel free to add the chickpeas earlier if you’d prefer them crunchier. Or, if you want them super-crunchy, you could even cook a separate batch of my Crispy Chickpeas.
MINT PESTO
I love mint’s sweet, fresh flavour.
That much should be pretty obvious given all the minty recipes I’ve posted already this year. Cucumber, Apple & Mint Smoothie, Strawberry & Cucumber Salad with Mint, Pea & Mint Baked Falafel, and Turkish Eggs with Chickpeas and Flatbread
In my defence though, the season for homegrown mint is quite short. So, finally having a good crop in my garden, I’m determined to make the most of it!
If you’ve got plenty of mint, or can scrounge a big bunch from a friend or neighbour, then you really need to make my Mint Pesto.
And not just because you’ll need two or three tablespoons of it for this Roasted Carrot and Chickpea Salad.
Without the cheese included in the classic Italian basil version, this vibrant pesto is hugely versatile. Flavoured with lemon and garlic, plus slight creaminess from almonds, it’s great not just with vegetables and pulses, but with meats like lamb kebab, in salad dressings, with yogurt, falafel and more.
Even better, it’s made in not much more than ten minutes, but will keep for a week in the fridge.
If you can’t get hold of enough mint to make a whole jar of pesto, just make a half batch. This will be plenty for the carrot and chickpea salad.
ROASTED CARROTS & CHICKPEAS WITH MINT PESTO
When the carrots and chickpeas are roasted to your liking (I prefer cooked carrots with some bite, but definitely not crunchy), add enough Mint Pesto to give them all a good coating.
Tastes will naturally vary, but I like two big, heaped tablespoonfuls.
I find it easiest to use tongs to mix things up and get all that minty, garlicky flavour distributed through the spicy veg and pulses.
Doesn’t that look good already?
GREENS: TO WILT OR NOT TO WILT?
Gorgeous as it is, I think Roasted Carrot and Chickpea Salad with Mint Pesto benefits from some leafy greens.
I’ve used baby spinach, but you could use rocket, kale, cavolo nero or your own favourite.
There are a few different ways of incorporating the greens:
- Eat the greens raw: make a bed of them on a platter or individual plates then top with the roasted carrots and chickpeas.
- Stir the greens into the hot veg and pulses so they wilt a little then serve.
- Stir in as above, but pop everything briefly back in the oven to soften the greens.
My preference is to put back in the oven.
How long the greens take to completely wilt and soften to your taste will depend on the greens. Spinach takes only a minute or two. Tougher kale will obviously take longer.
With the greens done to your liking, you’re ready to serve.
SERVING
You’ve lots of options for serving this salad. Do you want it hot, warm, or at room temperature?
Whichever way, I recommend sprinkling with more pepper or chilli flakes and chopped mint.
I like the salad topped with chunks of salty, creamy feta which goes wonderfully well with the mint flavour too.
And because the Mint Pesto is so good, I like to add a few extra blobs for good measure.
The amounts given in the detailed recipe at the end of the post will serve two people generously as a main meal salad.
Served as a side dish or as one of a series of small plates it would feed four. You could even stretch it further by stirring in some cooked grains like bulgur wheat or brown rice.
I think Roasted Carrot and Chickpea Salad with Mint Pesto is a great summer dish.
I love the way the mild chilli heat and earthy cumin cut through sweet roasted carrot and nutty chickpeas.
And then you have that zingy mint and garlic hit from the pesto.
To me, that’s a great combination, whether you decide to top it off with feta or not.
If you give this recipe a try, leave a comment below. And don’t forget to rate it!
Roasted Carrot and Chickpea Salad with Mint Pesto
Aromatic cumin seeds, fruity and warm Aleppo pepper plus refreshing mint and optional feta transform earthy root veg and pulses into a great summer salad.
Ingredients
- 500 g carrots
- 2 tsp cumin seed
- 2 tsp Aleppo pepper or 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 120 g cooked chickpeas drained
- 2-3 rounded tbsp Mint Pesto see Recipe Note #1
- 100 g washed spinach leaves see Recipe Note #2
To serve
- 80 g feta cubes optional
- Aleppo pepper
- chopped mint
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 180C Fan / 200 C / Gas 6
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Top and tail the carrots then scrub or peel them.
Cut the carrots in half from top to tail or, if very large, cut again into quarters.
Put in a roasting tray then sprinkle with the cumin, Aleppo pepper or chilli flakes, salt and pepper.
Drizzle over the olive oil then mix everything together well (using your hands is best) before spacing out the carrots in a single layer with their cut sides facing down.
Put the tray in the oven and roast for 10 minutes.
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Remove the tray from the oven and toss the chickpeas with the carrots and oil.
Arrange the carrots so their cut sides are now facing upwards, return the tray to the oven and roast for another 10 minutes.
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Take the tray from the oven and check that the carrots are done to your liking (return to the oven for a few minutes if necessary).
Stir 2 tablespoons of Minto Pesto through the carrots and chickpeas.
Toss the spinach into the rest of the ingredients: if you want to wilt the spinach return the tray to the oven for 1 minute, otherwise move to the next step.
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Put the carrots, chickpeas and spinach on a serving platter or divide between two plates or bowls.
Sprinkle over the cubes of feta if using, a pinch of Aleppo pepper or dried chilli flakes, the chopped mint, plus extra blobs of Mint Pesto if liked.
Can also be served cold or at room temperature.
Recipe Notes
Note #1 My Mint Pesto recipe is quick and easy to make. If you don't have enough mint to make the whole amount, make a half batch: this will be plenty for the Roasted Carrot and Chickpea Salad. Alternatively, use any jarred pesto you like.
Note #2 Use other greens such as rocket, kale or cavolo nero if preferred. Instead of wilting them, you could also serve them raw with the roasted carrots and chickpeas piled on top.
ENJOYED THIS RECIPE? TRY STRAWBERRY & CUCUMBER SALAD WITH MINT
So straightforward and tasty. I really love the mint pesto and can’t wait to try it with the Turkish eggs.
Thank you Jo! So glad you loved my Mint Pesto recipe 😊