Carrot and fresh almonds salad

April 24, 2010  •  Category:

 

Have you ever had fresh almonds? They are super crunchy and inside, the nut is soft and moist. We used to eat them doused in salt as a snack  out of school, buying  paper cone bags  from cart vendors.


The middle-eastern store is displaying mounds of these fresh almonds; Chef Marlene Mattar incorporated them in a salad with feta and arugula, so that’s how I want to eat them now, in a salad!

INGREDIENTS:

  • a handful of fresh almonds
  • a few carrots
  • a few hard-boiled eggs
  • a few olives

For the salad dressing:

  • Fresh lemon juice (half the volume of the olive oil)
  • extra-virgin olive oil
  • salt, pepper

METHOD:

  1. Peel and grate the carrots; place in a bowl
  2. Wash the almonds thoroughly and let them air dry or pat them dry a bit. Cut in small slices.
  3. Quarter the eggs; add all the ingredients to the salad bowl.
  4. Mix the dressing, pour and serve.

Comments

72 Comments  •  Comments Feed

  1. citronetvanille says:

    Ah ben moi non plus, je ne connaissais pas Taste of Beirut ni les goût des amandes fraîches, jolies photos et recettes comme j’aime, légères mais savoureuses! je me demande si je vais pouvoir trouver des amandes fraîches à San Francisco.

  2. tobias cooks! says:

    I never had fresh almonds. I also was not aware that they could be used for anything. Great salad inspiration for a salad. Thanks for sharing.

  3. Sook says:

    Beautiful plating there! 🙂

  4. OysterCulture says:

    I’ve never had fresh almonds and did not know what they looked like – I must go search them out. This salad sounds simply amazing!

  5. SYLVIA says:

    You eat with your eyes first, I love your recipes Joumana, what a powerfull salad this is. The beta caratine in the carrot, and the flavonoids found in the almond skins team up with vitamin E and give us with double antioxidant punch.
    I don’t have a blog, but I like to return the favor. I am a registered dietitian and specialize in nutrition, if there is anything that I can do please don’t hesitate to ask me. God Bless you, you are a very talented entertainer, and I am glad I found your blog, Thank you for everything
    .

  6. Cathy at Wives with says:

    What an interesting post. I’ve never seen fresh almonds for sale but can imagine that they are very tasty. Carrot salad is one of my favorites.

  7. Not Quite Nigella says:

    I’ve seen some fresh almonds and pistachios but to be honest I had no idea how to eat them or what to do with them so this is a great recipe! 😀

  8. aqua says:

    I am not a huge fan of raw carrots, but for once, I feel like digging into this salad! It sure looks very fresh and crunchy and I want to taste fresh almonds – never had them before!

  9. shayma says:

    really, really love fresh almonds- and such a beautiful combination you have here with carrots- i would have never thought of it. just the sort of thing we need for summer. freshness all around and your beautiful photos. x shayma

  10. Arlette says:

    Oh my you are already enjoying Louz Akhdar????
    is it already in the market in USA???? akh ala shi kam habbet
    I didnt taste louz akhdar since ages!!!!

  11. Susan says:

    Almonds are one of my favorite nuts but I have never seen nor tasted a fresh one. What a beautiful salad. I love all of the beautiful, fresh ingredients.

  12. Sushma Mallya says:

    wow the click is so lovely and your presentation is always superb…salad looks too good, healthy and yum

  13. Stella says:

    Whoa, this is so interesting. I’ve never seen fresh almonds. They’re very different looking. Is that a fuzzy exterior?
    This sounds so healthful and delicious, Joumana. I made a moroccan carrot salad for dinner tonight by the way. I wish we could have had it this way…

  14. skiip to malou says:

    Joumana this salad is stunning… your pictures are so crisp! the images seem to jump off the screen… what camera are you using?

  15. tigerfish says:

    Thanks for sharing a picture of fresh almonds – I have not seen them before.

  16. Nadjibella says:

    J’ai déjà mangé des amandes fraiches mais jamais avec la “coquille”.
    Seulement le noyau mais jamais cuisiné.
    Bonne idée.
    A bientôt.

  17. heni says:

    we had an almond tree in my grandmother’s house. She had many uses for them; but never did I see her using the fresh ones! I used to see them selling them in the Arabe markets in dearborn, MI years ago when I lived there but never realized you could actually eat them in this state! Thanks for sharing as always learning so much from you.

    Also on a side note, thank you for commenting onmy blog about the Madd maamoul. Cannot comment on the previous post, so commenting here: I would be very interesting in your Madd maamoul. I never ate it in the ME but in Shatila bakery in Dearborn, MI. I really loved it, actually was addicted to it at one point LOL! The dough to me looked much coarser then the regular maamoul cookie so I was not use about the dough – use semoule moyen? And also I called eichta cream inside – again it tasted like it to me but was not sure! Thank you for clearing that up! I look at your cream recipe again and try it out!

  18. Sylvie says:

    Quelle belle salade fraîcheur joliment présentée !

  19. Angie's Recipes says:

    First time I see the fresh almonds….can’t really related to the dried one. Carrot salad looks so delicious and healthy.

  20. Fouad @ TheFoodBlog says:

    Hi Joumana

    Interesting idea with the almonds. Whenever I have green almonds, it’s been with a bit of salt and arak. A salad sounds lovely. How did it turn out? Were they lost in the flavours? Looks wonderfully colourfull.

    F

  21. Lyndsey says:

    Very interesting! No I have never had a fresh almond before, now I know what I’m missing. I love the look of your salad!

  22. Priya says:

    Never used fresh almonds, thanks for sharing this salad..looks awesome..

  23. pommes cannelles says:

    Je connaissait les amandes fraîches, dans le sud de la France on peut en trouver, mais je ne savais pas que l’on pouvait les manger entières, j’ai l’habitude de mangeais seulement l’intérieur !
    Merci pour cette recette

  24. Sarah Galvin (All Our Fingers in the Pie) says:

    I always learn something from your recipes. I did not know about fresh almonds.

  25. Conor @ HoldtheBeef says:

    There is an almond tree on my grandparents’ farm and we would sit under it, cracking the nuts open with rocks and eating them. I never thought to try eating them green,but now am very curious.

  26. Katie @ Cozydeliciou says:

    I’ve never had fresh almonds – they look so wonderful! I’m going to have to find some. There is a great Middle Eastern store nearby, I hope they have them. Yum!

  27. Vanessa says:

    It’s wonderful to discover your amazing blog – so beautiful and inspiring. Funnily, I’d never even considered fresh almonds but they look and sound wonderful. I love your recipe and the composition of your shots.

  28. kim says:

    I’ve seen these almonds, but never knew you could need the outer part as well. They look like little beads to me. 🙂

  29. GourmanDenise says:

    Belle association de saveurs… et de couleurs !
    A bientôt et merci de ta visite.

  30. peter says:

    NEVER! This salad definitely catches the eye and I’m game for trying it…from you hands, of course.

  31. grace says:

    how interesting! i immediately wondered what those green goodies could be, and never in a million years would i have guessed they were almonds. obviously i’ve never been fortunate enough to try them, but i’ll be on the lookout! your presentation is just lovely. 🙂

  32. asia jo says:

    Fresh almonds … How curious I am! – I had never eaten fresh almonds … and your salad looks so beautifully oriental 🙂

  33. Pj says:

    I have seen these fresh almonds just very recently at an ethnic grocery store but I didnt know what they were. They looked intriguing and the reason I remember them is because my husband and I spent five minutes just trying to guess what these were! Now I know, thanks to you! Salad looks delicious and very novel.

  34. The Nervous Cook says:

    That looks easy, fast, delicious, healthy and beautiful — so basically everything I want out of life and food!

  35. Evel@CheapEthnicEatz says:

    Indeed I have never tasted fresh almonds. I have seen them but never bought any by ignorance of how to prepare them. I figured it was a more complicated process. Thank you for teaching me about them.

  36. Faith says:

    I’ve never had fresh almonds…I’m very intrigued though! This looks like a fabulous salad!

  37. courtney aka glamah says:

    I have never seen fresh almonds before. I wonder where I can find them in Chicago Beautiful presentation.

  38. sweetlife says:

    I have never tasted fresh almonds they look divine, and your salad is so beautiful

    sweetlife

  39. Maninas says:

    I really like your almond photo. They’re so gorgeous

  40. TastyTrix says:

    I have never had fresh almonds, they must be so different – how do you always make me crave something that I may or may not be able to find?

  41. Nadia says:

    so simple and wonderful. the colors are fabulous! bright, vivid, and presented beautifully.

  42. heguiberto says:

    Joumana,
    There is an almond tree in front of my building loaded with green almonds. I did not know you could eat them that way. I am going to harvest some on my way home after work today.
    In Brazil we eat fresh cashew nut. It tastes delicious both the fruit and the nut. I imagine the raw flavor of almond would be similar, I’ll let you know!
    H

  43. Maria says:

    I too have never tried fresh almonds … this salad sounds great! A very different taste and texture, I am sure, but lovely nonetheless.

  44. Sanura says:

    Very insightful post. Where can fresh almonds be purchased?

  45. PJ says:

    That’s an absolutely delicious salad!!!Lovely clicks..I too have never used fresh almonds.Would love to dig into that salad rite now…

  46. Michelle says:

    OH my gosh…look at that! I have never in my life seen a fresh almond. How cool!

  47. cmiranda says:

    I actually saw fresh almonds in an Armenian market a few days ago but had no idea what they were or know of any recipes that use them.Thanks for including them in this recipe.

  48. HistoryOf GreekFood says:

    I adore fresh almonds! In Crete, we often eat them sprinkled with salt or cooked with lamb or fish. Your salad is delicious!!!

  49. Sue Stephens says:

    I had never thought of eating fesh almonds! I am learning a lot from your writing – thank you so much!

  50. Duchess says:

    Now I want to try a fresh almond… I must be able to get there somewhere near me!

  51. MarkSpizer says:

    great post as usual!

  52. Doggy says:

    Hola, ЎGracias! Ahora me irй en este blog cada dнa!

    Doggy

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  54. Bookcase Plans says:

    One of the most useful websites I have found during my research, thanks a lot!

  55. Philip says:

    Great blog!

    Do you know where it’s possible to purchase “fresh almonds” ?
    Thanks a lot

    • Joumana says:

      @Philip: the season is now starting and fresh almonds are sold in greengrocers all over Lebanon. It all depends on your area, and the almond trees near you (or imported).

  56. Philip says:

    Hi Joumana

    Fantastic! But I live in London, you think it’s possible to import them? Do you know any other places in Europe that have almond trees closer to England?

    Thanks a lot

    Philip

    • Joumana says:

      @Phillip: I would go to the Middle-Eastern grocer in London and ask them. They always get fresh almonds in the US, so they probably know a source.

  57. Mr. Lasse says:

    Fresh Almonds! Hurra, I finally found a recipe and a description of how to enjoy them. Thank you for sharing this information. It was almost impossible to find anything useful on ‘fresh almonds’.

    Just bought some here in Aarhus (Denmark) where I live. Another blog mentioned that fresh almonds is poisonous though! Is this true? Maybe they had bitter-almond in their minds?

    If you know of more recipes with fresh almonds please make my happy and post them! :o) And how do you store fresh almonds? In the refrigerator, freezer, at room temperature, what? Hope you will share some info if you know. Bye from me.

    • Joumana says:

      @Mr. Lasse: Fresh almonds are sold everywhere in Beirut right now; store them wrapped in a paper towel and in a plastic bag in the veggie container in the fridge. I have other recipes for them and I will post them soon before the season ends (remind me if I forget!).

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