Today I watched my boyfriend, a first-year resident in internal medicine, present to his fellow interns about an interesting case (a.k.a. patient) he’d recently seen at the hospital. Considering that most of the medical jargon tossed about was far over my liberal arts-focused head, I tried to distill key pieces of information that phonetically sounded like they were spoken in English. Cirrhosis? Check. Necrotizing pancreatitis? I just learned the definition of – and will probably have nightmares over – necrotizing fasciitis, so I’ve got that one down. As the number of syllables per word increased, I found my mind wandering over to its favorite subject: food. More specifically, what I could cook for dinner with the limited ingredients in my pantry and refrigerator.
I thought of the lonely carrot nubs in the crisper drawer, left over from yesterday’s almond flour carrot cake cupcakes. For some reason I started going down a Middle Eastern road, thus bringing to mind the sumac berries I’d been meaning to grind and use in, well, anything, and some Meyer lemons I’d preserved last winter. Pine nuts, cumin and dried cherries fell into place, followed closely and finally by flat-leaf parsley and fresh mint from my nascent herb garden. Satisfied, I relaxed back into my seat and listened - with a fair degree of both pride and confusion - to the rest of his presentation.
This salad comes together quickly and dirties few dishes, as I warm the vinaigrette over low heat before adding the carrots to the same pan. This both deepens the flavor in the vinaigrette and helps the carrots to absorb more of the flavorful liquid. Of course, carrot salad is a little on the light side for a meal, especially if you’re a first year resident who spends his days managing interesting cases and using complex terminology! I’d perhaps incorporate this salad into a Middle Eastern-inspired spread that includes such treats as pita and hummus, marinated fava beans, feta cheese and olives.
Continue reading "on carrots and necrotizing pancreatitis" »