Carrot and pine-nut salad

Starter: serves 4. Total time: 20 minutes

Clean and and serene with strains of Morocco, this salad succeeds where coleslaw fails, being both delicious and healthy. The Lebanese pride themselves on pine nuts; they're longer, thinner and more refined than the more widely available Chinese equivalent. Look out for them if you ever have the chance.



50 g pine nuts
350 g organic carrots, peeled
2 tbsp finely chopped parsley
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp groundnut oil
1/2 garlic clove
sea salt, black pepper

Heat a dry frying pan over a low heat and toast the pine nuts, tossing constantly until they are well-coloured. Transfer to a small plate and leave them to cool. Finely grate the carrots - you can use a food processor to do this.

Combine the grated carrot and parsley in a bowl. Either crush or chop the garlic, sprinkle over a little salt and crush to a paste using the flat edge of a knife. Whisk it in a small bowl with the lemon juice and some seasoning, then add the oil. You can prepare the salad to this point in advance and toss it just before eating.

To serve, toss the carrot with the dressing, then mix in the pine nuts.