---
title: "Moroccan Carrot & Orange Salad"
description: "Bright, cold and barely cooked at all. Grated carrot turns sweet and tender the moment it sits in a dressing, orange segments keep the whole bowl juicy, raisins left in the dressing swell until they are almost jammy, and a spoonful of honey carrying cinnamon and cumin is what stops it reading as a…"
category: "Salads"
cuisine: "Moroccan"
serves: "4 as a side"
prep: "15 mins"
author: "Thomas Chaplin"
site: "Recipe Book"
url: "https://chaplinkitchen.com/r/moroccan-carrot-and-orange-salad/"
datePublished: "2026-09-12T14:22:18+01:00"
dateModified: "2026-09-12T14:22:18+01:00"
---

# Moroccan Carrot & Orange Salad

Bright, cold and barely cooked at all. Grated carrot turns sweet and tender the moment it sits in a dressing, orange segments keep the whole bowl juicy, raisins left in the dressing swell until they are almost jammy, and a spoonful of honey carrying cinnamon and cumin is what stops it reading as a fruit salad — it belongs next to roast chicken, lamb or anything out of a tagine. Fifteen minutes with a grater, and it is better after ten of them in the fridge than it is straight away.

**Category:** Salads · **Cuisine:** Moroccan · **Serves:** 4 as a side · **Prep:** 15 mins

**Recipe URL:** https://chaplinkitchen.com/r/moroccan-carrot-and-orange-salad/

## Ingredients

- 4 carrots _(peeled and grated)_
- 2 oranges _(peeled and segmented, each segment halved)_
- 30g raisins
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp orange juice
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin
- Salt and black pepper _(to taste)_

## Method

1. **Make the dressing.** Whisk the olive oil, orange juice, honey, cinnamon and cumin together in the bottom of a large serving bowl until the honey has loosened and the dressing looks glossy rather than split. Season with salt and pepper, then stir the raisins through and leave them to plump while you get on with the carrots.
2. **Grate the carrots.** Peel the carrots and grate them coarsely straight into the bowl, then turn them through the dressing while you deal with the oranges — they start softening the moment they are coated.
3. **Segment the oranges.** Cut the top and bottom off each orange, sit it flat and cut the peel and white pith away in strips down the sides. Free the segments, cut each one in half, and add them to the bowl along with any juice left on the board.
4. **Toss and rest.** Toss gently so the segments stay whole, then taste and adjust — more salt if it is flat, more honey if the carrots came up sharp. Leave it ten minutes before serving so the spices settle into the carrot.

## Notes

- Segment the oranges over the bowl, or over the board and tip the juice in after: that is where the two tablespoons for the dressing come from, and it is sweeter and rounder than anything poured out of a carton.
- Coarse holes on the box grater, not fine — fine shreds collapse into a wet mat within the hour, while coarse ones stay separate and keep some bite.
- The spices want a moment in the oil before anything else goes in, which is why they are whisked into the dressing rather than scattered over the salad. Sprinkled on top they stay powdery and catch the back of the throat.
- Toasting the cumin in a dry pan for thirty seconds and grinding it yourself is the single biggest upgrade here, if there is a whole jar of seeds in the cupboard.
- Raisins go in at the dressing stage rather than at the end: a few minutes in the oil and orange juice swells them, and a plump raisin sits in the salad instead of quietly drinking the juice out of it. Golden sultanas are sweeter and softer, chopped dried apricots chewier, and dried cranberries take it somewhere sharper.
- Carrots vary more than you would think. Young summer ones are sweet enough that the honey can drop to a teaspoon; older, woodier ones need the full tablespoon and a firmer hand with the salt.
- Blood oranges make it look extraordinary for the few weeks they are around. Tangerines or clementines work too, though they are sweeter and softer, so lean on the pepper.
- This one keeps better than most salads — overnight in the fridge is fine, and some would say improved. Drain off what has gathered in the bottom before it goes to the table a second time.
- Mint or coriander torn over at the last moment, or toasted flaked almonds and a few pomegranate seeds if it needs to look like more of an occasion.
- A drop of orange blossom water in the dressing is what a lot of versions in Morocco finish with. It is potent — a drop is a drop, not a splash.