Crunchy tender carrots tossed in a tangy-sweet dressing meet soft and blackened dates for literally everything you want in one bite.
Recipe information
Yield
8 servings
Ingredients
1½
3
¼
2
2
10
Preparation
Step 1
Place carrots in a large bowl, season generously with salt, and toss to coat. Let sit at least 10 minutes and up to 1 hour to soften slightly. Pour off any liquid that collects in bowl.
Step 2
Meanwhile, cut peel and white pith from oranges. Working your way around, cut citrus flesh off cores in lobes. Cut each lobe into large pieces and place in a medium bowl; set aside. Squeeze cores over a small bowl to extract any juice (you want 2 Tbsp.; discard or drink any extra). Discard cores. Whisk oil, lime juice, and vinegar into orange juice; season with salt.
Step 3
Pour half of dressing over carrots and let sit, tossing occasionally, until ready to serve. Set remaining dressing aside.
Step 4
Heat a small skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium-high. Cook dates, turning occasionally, until blackened in spots, about 3 minutes. Let cool; remove pits.
Step 5
Just before serving, pour off excess liquid from carrots and discard (carrots will have softened by now). Drizzle reserved dressing over carrots and toss to coat. Tear dates into bite-size pieces; add to carrots along with reserved oranges and toss to combine. Taste and season with more salt if needed. Top with tarragon.
Step 6
Do Ahead: Carrots can be tossed with dressing 1 day ahead. Cover and chill carrots and remaining dressing separately.
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Reviews (19)
Back to TopI brought this to Christmas dinner and it was a big hit! I felt like I over-salted my carrots on the first step but it wasn't too much in the end result - lovely combination of flavors that I will be making again for a game night potluck next week. Yum!
Anonymous
Texas
12/29/2023
Yes good, but it cost $10 to makd a side dish!
Anonymous
9/22/2021
This was soooo tasty! Made it for Christmas dinner and everyone loved it! Used grapefruits instead of blood oranges and it was really great. Will definitely make again! Would be great for a potluck also!
Vancoucer, BC
12/25/2019
Strongly recommend checking the carrots 10 minutes after they've been mixed with the salt even though the recipe says they can sit for up to an hour - at 25 minutes I found them quite salty & even a rinse didn't help (perhaps a soak in fresh water instead - which I realize may defeat the purpose of salting them but that might have helped with the excess salt). That being said I'd definitely make these again with lots more citrus (a mix of both as others have mentioned) and maybe some green cardamom. As for the current salty batch I'll be using it as one of many veggies in a green salad so they don't go to waste.
ballondusoleil
11/30/2019
Made this today, just because of the 1 start reviews. People, people, please. Has reading comprehension no longer being taught in school? 1st use purple carrots (yes it is a thing). The carrots are not cooked, they are softened around the edges by the salt. 2nd the supremes of the citrus fruit are in the dish. Can't understand how reviewers are missing this. (maybe it is my first point). I cooked the dates on my flat top until they charred. Its a nice side dish with good flavors. I agree with the op that a spiced papita or blanched pistachio would go nicely on top. People, please read the recipe before you start cooking. I teach this to my students all the time. It really is a very basic thing.
USAChef37
Georgia
12/9/2018
I freaking love this recipe. It's sweet but not too sweet, refreshing, zippy, and a great mixture of textures. I served it at thanksgiving and it provided a great contrast to all the heavy dishes. I don't know why people are having so many problems with it. Even if you added the grapefruits AND the oranges, instead of choosing and using one, I don't see how that would hurt the recipe, except to make it a little more fruity. If you wanted to change anything, throwing in something crunchy like some pistachios or pumpkin seeds might be a fun addition. It's been added into my rotation.
AbbyR
Alabama
11/24/2018
Editors: maybe add literally sentence-by-sentence pictures for those readers who refuse to read instructions.
Anonymous
11/24/2018