Egyptian Spiced Carrot Crostini

This egyptian spiced carrot puree is delicious and versatile. You can simply serve it as a side dish (think fancy mashed potatoes!) or use as a dip for crackers. I personally love it spread on a thick slice of crusty bread and drizzling it with a lemon tahini sauce, roasted chickpeas and a few micro greens. It has a lovely sweet/spicy flavor and the addition of homemade dukkah takes it up a notch. However, if you’re not up for making your own dukkah feel free to purchase some at the grocery store or online.

Ingredietns:

Carrots

•     1 1/2 pounds carrots, washed and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
•     4 Tablespoons olive oil
•     1 Tablespoon white wine vinegar
•     2-3 teaspoons harissa spice mix or paste
•     3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
•     1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
•     pinch of salt and pepper

Lemon Tahini Sauce

•     1/4 cup tahini
•     1/4 cup water + more to thin if necessary
•     3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
•     1 clove of garlic, minced
•     pinch of cayenne pepper
•     salt and pepper to taste

Loaf of good quality bread

•     Slice bread into 1/2 inch thick pieces

Toppings-optional but recommended

•     Roasted chickpeas
•     Micro greens (or minced cilantro/herbs of choice)
•     small handful of raisins

Dukkah

•     1 cup hazelnuts
•     1/2 cup sesame seeds
•     1/4 cup cumin seeds
•     1/4 cup coriander seeds
•     1/4 cup fennel seeds
•     2 teaspoons dried mint
•     1 teaspoon fine sea salt
•     freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Toss the carrots with the oil, vinegar, spices salt and pepper. Place on a prepared baking sheet and roast in the oven until lightly browned and tender. About 20 minutes. Toss carrots halfway through cooking.
2. Measure out all the ingredients for the dukkah separately. Heat a dry (un-oiled) skillet on the stove over medium heat. Toast each of the nuts and seeds separately (due to the difference in size they’ll toast at different times). Shake the pan often. Combine the toasted nuts, seeds, mint, salt and pepper in a food processor and pulse until desired consistency. I like to leave mine rather coarse but you can process longer so you end up with a finer mixture.
3. Prepare the dressing by combining all the ingredients together and whisking until smooth. This works best with an immersion blender or small food processor. Taste test and adjust seasonings if need be. Add more water if the sauce is too thick (however, I like it thick when drizzled on this toast!)
4. Place the cooked carrots in a large bowl and mash with the back of a fork or a potato masher. Taste test the carrots and add more spices if necessary.
5. Toast the bread.
6. Spread the carrot puree on each slice of bread, sprinkle with dukkah, drizzle with dressing and top each slice with roasted chickpeas, micro greens and raisins if you’d prefer. Enjoy!