Egyptian Spiced Carrot Puree

Oolala's Note:

From Food and Wine. Found in my quest to find some recipes to use my new ready-made harissa spice blend. The recipe can be prepared up to 2 days ahead. Refrigerate the carrots and store the spice mixture at room temperature. Tip: Adding all four teaspoons of harissa to this dip might make it too spicy for you, so mix it in gradually and taste as you go.

• Total Time: 20 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 0 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• ¼ cup blanched almond , you can use hazelnuts too
• ¼ cup coriander seed
• 2 tablespoons cumin seeds
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• ¼ cup unsweetened dried shredded coconut
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 2 lbs carrots , cut into 2-inch lengths
• 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil , plus more for serving
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 4 teaspoons harissa , dry spice blend
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger

Directions:

1. In a medium skillet, toast the almonds over moderate heat, stirring, until golden, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a work surface to cool, then finely chop. Add the coriander and cumin seeds to the skillet and toast, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a spice grinder and let cool completely, then coarsely grind. In a medium bowl, mix the ground almonds with the spices.
2. Add the sesame seeds to the skillet and toast over moderate heat, stirring, until golden, about 1 1/2 minutes. Transfer the sesame seeds to the spice grinder. Toast the coconut in the skillet over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until golden, about 1 minute. Transfer to the grinder and let cool completely. Grind the sesame seeds and coconut to a coarse powder. Add to the almond-spice mixture and season with 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper.
3. In a large saucepan, cover the carrots with water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to moderate and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain the carrots and return them to the saucepan. Cook for 30 seconds over medium heat to dry thoroughly. Remove from the heat and coarsely mash the carrots with a fork. Stir in the 6 tablespoons of olive oil, the vinegar, harissa, ground cumin and ginger. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the carrot puree to a bowl and serve with torn pita, olive oil and the spice mix.
4. Serve this dip with pita chips or slices of cucumber.