Grated Carrot Salad
by hilla.kariv on January 11, 2012
Every phone conversation I have with my sister ends with me heading towards the kitchen. Because my sister, aside from being my personal on-call pediatrician, is one of my biggest inspirations to eat better and healthier. She is like a rabbit. There is no vegetable that doesn’t go through her kitchen, chopped and consumed. Whereas in my kitchen you can always find vegetables waiting for something to happen, in hers you will always find 2-3 ready salads waiting for hunger to strike someone in the house.
Today’s conversation was even more inspirational than usual, since I called her while she was cooking. While we were talking she was chopping fennel, sautéing cabbages, snacking on a turnip and checking on a chicken in the oven. The conversation peaked when she told me about Rina’s carrot salad, “Excellent! You have to try it!”
After getting off the phone I enthusiastically grated beets and chopped fennel. But as my sister promised, the carrot salad was the highlight of my morning in the kitchen – simple, fresh and full of flavor. I tasted a bite and another and another and ended up with a full bowl of fresh carrots for breakfast.
This salad is not only tasty, it’s cook-friendly. Unlike other vegetable and greens based salads that wilt and must be eaten fresh, this one keeps well for a day or two. Excellent for hosting since you can make it in advance. You can use ready made candied pecans or make your own candied almonds in 2 minutes. If you are making it in advance keep the carrots and almonds/pecans separate and mix at the last minute so they stay crunchy.
Grated Carrot Salad with Garlic and Almonds
6 big carrots (about 16 oz / 450 gr.) – peeled and grated
1 heaping teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 Tablespoons canola oil
2 Tablespoons simple vinegar
1 Tablespoon date syrup (or honey)
1 garlic clove – crushed
fresh salt and pepper
a squeeze of lemon juice
Mix ingredients well until you get a thick smooth sauce. Add to the grated carrots and mix well.
For the lightly sugared almonds:
1/3 cup almond slices
1 teaspoon canola oil
1 teaspoon brown sugar
Heat the oil in a pan. Add the almonds, stir and cook for a few seconds. Add the sugar and continue cooking until the almond pieces brown slightly. Be careful not to burn them. Remove from heat and transfer to a large flat plate for quick cooling.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Delicous! Made it today and gone in few seconds.
This was fantastic! I made it three times already. The best was when I used a V slicer to make very thin julienned carrots (and I made 3 times as many nuts so that I could munch on them while slicing). Amazing. All the carrot haters gobbled it up. I also made the cinnamon chicken which was fabulous. Thank you so much for your beautiful recipes!