• 6–8 medium carrots
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• ⅓ cup mild olive oil
• Salt

Peel the carrots and thinly slice or cut into julienne strips. A mandoline will make this job easy, if you have one. If not, just try to cut the carrots in uniform pieces, because you want them all to be cooked at the same time. You should have about 2 cups.

Place the spices, lemon juice, and sugar in a mortar and grind with a pestle to emulsify. Gradually work in the olive oil. Season to taste with salt and adjust the seasoning.

Heat a medium pot of water to boiling. Salt the water, drop in the carrots, and cook until tender but still somewhat crisp. This will take just a minute or two. Quickly drain the carrots, put them in a mixing bowl, and toss them immediately with the vinaigrette. If the carrots seem gritty, add a tablespoon of cold water to smooth out the dressing.