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What is it about ethnic food that so excites me? A lot of my spare time consists of thinking about what cuisines I haven’t tried yet… and lots of Googling ensues. Where is the nearest Ethiopian restaurant near our home? Is there a Turkish place close by? What is the best tapas restaurant in Chicago? I just love to try out new cuisines, new flavors, new foods. And one of my biggest accomplishments in life was converting my cute, sheltered, intrepid Midwestern husband into a globe-trotting, ethnic food-loving person. Okay, so maybe “biggest accomplishment in life” is a slight exaggeration, you if knew B before we got married, you’d know that it really was a big thing when he started eating non-American food!

My love of ethnic cuisine extends into the kitchen too. I love looking for recipes that bring the tastes of a faraway place into my own home. I found this recipe for a Moroccan raw carrot salad in Joyce Goldstein’s Mediterranean Fresh. Who would have guessed the flavors of carrots, raisins, nuts, lemon and cinnamon would all come together in such a delicious way? They’re certainly not a combination of flavors I would have come up with on my own. But the sweetness of the carrots and raisins, the tang of the lemon and the spiciness of the cinnamon mesh wonderfully. I instantly dream of standing in the middle of a Marrakech souk, watching acrobats, dancers and musicians, breathing in the fragrance of spices, gazing at the desserts afar and just generally being enchanted by a dizzying array of bright colors and good food.

On another note, this dish packs a true nutritional punch. It’s one of those salads that would seriously make me consider becoming a raw foodist. I won’t really, because I love cooking too much, but if there were ever to be a moment I’d convert, it would be after eating this salad. Crunchy, sweet, spicy and nutty, it is a burst of flavors and textures in your mouth. True deliciousness.

Recipe: Moroccan Salad of Raw Grated Carrots with Citrus Cinnamon Dressing
Adapted from Mediterranean Fresh by Joyce Goldstein
Serves 4

• 4 large carrots
• 1/4 cup citrus cinnamon dressing (recipe below)
• Raisins
• Pine nuts, toasted
• Citrus cinnamon dressing (recipe below)

Grate the carrots on the large holes of a box grater. Toss with the dressing, top with plumped raisins and toasted pine nuts for an Arabic accent, and serve.

Recipe: Citrus Cinnamon Dressing
Adapted from Mediterranean Fresh by Joyce Goldstein
Makes 3/4 cup

• 1/2 cup mild olive oil
• 4 tablespoons fresh orange juice
• 3 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
• 1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl with a whisk.