Orange Blossom Carrot Salad

Middle Eastern carrot salad! Shredded carrots and golden raisins dressed with honey, lemon and orange blossom water.

By
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise founded Simply Recipes in 2003 and led the site until 2019. She has an MA in Food Research from Stanford University.
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Updated June 15, 2022
Elise Bauer
Orange Blossom Carrot Salad
Elise Bauer

Some dishes depend on one special ingredient, the absence of which gives you something rather ordinary, the inclusion of which creates something extraordinary. This is one of those dishes.

This carrot salad comes from the Middle East, and depends on the addition of orange blossom water, which like rose water, is often used in Middle Eastern cooking.

Orange flower water is distilled from bitter orange blossoms and is used to flavor drinks, salads, and desserts. You can get orange blossom or orange flower water at a Mediterranean market. Whole Foods also carries it.

Local chef Evie Lieb made this salad in our cooking class this week and I don't think I've ever tasted carrot salad so exotically delicious. Evie adapted this recipe from one by Claudia Roden in The New Book of Middle Eastern Food.

Orange Blossom Carrot Salad
Elise Bauer

More delicious Carrot salad recipes:

Orange Blossom Carrot Salad

Prep Time 15 mins
Total Time 15 mins
Servings 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 pound carrots (with small cores), peeled and coarsely grated

  • 1/2 cup golden or crimson raisins

  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

  • 2 tablespoons honey

  • 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons freshly juiced lemon juice

  • 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons orange flower water

  • 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger

  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, or more to taste

  • Salt and pepper, lightly sprinkled to taste

  • Fresh mint, chopped, for garnish

Method

  1. Combine all the ingredients except mint.

  2. Chill in refrigerator several hours or overnight.

  3. Serve garnished with slivers of mint leaves.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
127 Calories
7g Fat
17g Carbs
1g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6 to 8
Amount per serving
Calories 127
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 7g 9%
Saturated Fat 1g 5%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 73mg 3%
Total Carbohydrate 17g 6%
Dietary Fiber 2g 8%
Total Sugars 12g
Protein 1g
Vitamin C 3mg 16%
Calcium 28mg 2%
Iron 1mg 4%
Potassium 225mg 5%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.