Roasted Carrot Spelt Salad with Blood Orange
Nutty spelt grain salad combining roasted baby carrots, fennel, and citrus brightness from blood orange zest and juice. Finished with red wine vinegar dressing, red onion, olives, and fresh parsley. Serves as a substantial side or light main course that holds well at room temperature.
Ingredients
- 1 lb spelt, cookedfarro1:1grainwhole_grain
similar nutty texture and cook time
- 1 cube vegetable stock, whole
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 lb baby carrots, scrubbed
- 3 whole blood oranges, 2 zested and 1 juicedregular oranges1:1citrus
less intense flavor
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp clear honey, divided
- 2 whole fennel bulbs, thinly sliced
- 4 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 whole red onion, small, finely chopped
- parsley, large bunch, chopped
- 2 ½ oz pitted dry black olives or small black olives or Kalamata olives
- parsley, small pack, chopped(optional)
- salt
- pepper
Instructions
- 1
Heat oven to 400°F (350°F fan/gas 6). Cook spelt with stock cube following package instructions until tender with slight nutty bite. Drain thoroughly and toss with one portion of extra virgin olive oil on a platter.
- 2
Toss carrots with olive oil, blood orange zest, and seasoning in a roasting tin. Roast for 15 minutes.
- 3
Stir half the honey with sliced fennel through the carrots. Continue roasting for 10 minutes, then cool for 5 minutes.
- 4
Cut away pith and peel from the two zested oranges. Roughly chop or slice the segments.
- 5
Whisk together remaining extra virgin olive oil, remaining honey, red wine vinegar, blood orange juice, and seasoning.
- 6
Combine roasted carrots and fennel with cooking juices on top of spelt. Add orange chunks, red onion, parsley, and olives.
- 7
Drizzle dressing over salad and toss well. Stir through optional parsley before serving.
Tips
Do not overcook spelt; it should retain a slight nutty bite and not become mushy.
Drain spelt very well and toss immediately with oil to prevent clumping.
Cool roasted vegetables for 5 minutes before combining to prevent wilting herbs and dressing.
If assembling ahead, add half the dressing initially and stir through remaining dressing just before serving, as spelt absorbs dressing quickly.
Stir in optional fresh parsley at service for brightness.
Good to Know
Cover and refrigerate up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature before serving. Spelt continues to absorb dressing over time.
Prepare components separately: cook and oil spelt, roast vegetables and cool completely, make dressing. Assemble up to 4 hours ahead. If holding longer than 2 hours, dress only half the salad initially and add remaining dressing just before service.
Serve at room temperature as a side dish to grilled fish or chicken, or as a light main course vegetarian salad. Stir through optional fresh parsley at the table.
Common Mistakes
Do not overcook spelt to avoid mushy texture losing its characteristic nutty bite.
Do not skip cooling roasted vegetables to avoid dressing and herbs wilting from residual heat.
Do not fully dress salad far ahead to avoid spelt absorbing all liquid and salad becoming dry and dense.
Substitutions
Gluten-Free Swaps
chewier texture
General Alternatives
less intense flavor
tartness similar but different fruit