This salad is one that sets off fantastic fireworks on your tongue – and flavours that might linger a little while after dinner. It’s a bit strong for the kids when dressed so I keep the ingredients separate on small plates for them; they like all the component parts, just not mixed together. Not so for the gearhead and the wife – we like it all together. The carrots, freshly dug up from the garden, are extra sweet and the skin is so thin they don’t even need peeling. Once dressed, the salad should be eaten – the freshness of the lemon juice seems to dissipate with time. If you’re serving this to guests, you can prepare all the salad ingredients ahead of time, then whip up the dressing and toss it together right before the meal.
I tend to throw things together to make salads so I apologize for the slapdashness of the ingredient list – they are estimates really so add a little more or less of things according to your taste.
Carrot Salad
4-5 new carrots, peeled if thick skinned, and grated finely ( a food processor or a mandoline will work well here but sometimes I just like to grate them quickly by hand on a box grater – the kids can do this job too – not using the mandoline; the box grater)
1/4 cup very finely minced red onion
1 bunch flat leaf parsley, stems discarded, leaves chopped finely
1/2 cup dried cherries (I also use raisins when I’m out of cherries which seems to be often)
1/4 cup pine nuts
Prepare the salad ingredients and toss together in a bowl. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge if not dressing and eating right away. Otherwise toss with the vinaigrette and enjoy!
Vinaigrette
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (usually one small lemon)
1 medium sized clove of garlic, minced (preferably put through a garlic press)
1/2 cup good quality olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Whisk all the vinaigrette ingredients together in a small bowl, or alternatively, shake them up in a covered jam jar. Pour over the carrot salad and enjoy!
Food by the Gearhead's Wife 