i had some gorgeous carrots on hand in 4 or 5 colours–the kind i only find at markets, never at the grocery store. and although i'd cooked with them, i really wanted to make something that showed their raw beauty well. so naturally a salad came to mind. i had some fresh green lettuce and parsley on hand, and added chickpeas for a creamy element among all that crunch.
i remembered watching jamie oliver's show "jamie at home" (one of my favourite food shows) and i think he took carrots of different colours, peeled them, and then just kept on peeling to get thin, long strips of carrot for his salad, and i thought i remembered a cumin based dressing too. i have had cumin and carrots many times, as cumin is a strong player in my mom's carrot "curry" recipe, but she also uses mustard seeds a lot, so i toasted both ground cumin and mustard seeds and then ground them in a mortar, and added chopped shallots, olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper to make the dressing. tasty and even heartier than it looks.
i later looked up that jamie oliver recipe and i'd remembered some parts correctly, but he served his salad over ground lamb. i may not eat lamb anymore but i know that would have been a delicious combo!