Raw Carrot Salad
For a fresh take on a side dish or salad, try this colorful bowl of raw carrots, golden raisins, shallots and herbs coated with a honey & cumin apple cider vinegar dressing.
Ingredients in Raw Carrot Salad:
- large carrots
- shallot
- golden raisins
- fresh herbs-flat leaf parsley, mint and dill
- olive oil
- honey
- apple cider vinegar
- salt, pepper and cumin
How to make this salad:
Slice the raw carrots into coins. Soften the shallot in the vinegar. Drain the shallots reserving the vinegar. Place carrots in a bowl with the shallots, golden raisins, fresh herbs. Create a vinaigrette with the olive oil, vinegar, warm honey, cumin, salt & pepper. Chill at least 4 hours or overnight.
Tips for a great Raw Carrot Salad:
- Use multicolored carrots- found typically in the organic section, for a colorful salad.
- This salad can be made three days in advance. Just do not add the herbs until ready to serve. It gets better every day.
- If you don’t like raw carrots, see my step on steaming the carrots. Just cool off in an ice bath and pat dry before adding the dressing.
- For a VEGAN version, just add agave to the vinaigrette instead of carrots.
- Try toasted pistachios, goat or Manchego cheese, fresh thyme leaves or white wine vinegar for variations to the recipe.
- If you cut the carrots in advance, keep them in a bowl filled with ice water in your fridge.
Equipment and utensils needed for this recipe:
Chef’s notes about this raw carrot salad:
This delicious crisp vegetable dish is one of those sweet and sour salads that I crave all the time. I have a ferocious sweet tooth and am always looking for ways to cut back on my sugar intake. A salad like this with sweet organic carrots, shallots softened in a briny apple cider vinegar, golden raisins and tons of herbs satisfies every kind of craving. The crunch of the carrots is so good and when the dressing hits your palate- oh my. I could eat bowls and bowls of this.
If you do not like the raw carrots, just soften up the carrots in a quick little steam, add shallots to a bowl of vinegar while you chop up the rest and throw in a ton of herbs: parsley, mint, dill, thyme – almost anything would work.
On day two this dish is even better. Make a big batch and have it throughout the week.
Nutritional information: based on 6 servings
Calories: 275
Total fat- 18.4 grams, sat fat:2.6 grams, sodium: 460.8 mg, total carbs: 27 grams, fiber: 4 grams, sugar: 20.4 grams, protein: 1.9 grams, calcium: 7.7%, iron: 13.8%, potassium: 482 mg, vitamin A: 1023.9%, vitamin C: 14.5%
Other side dishes to try:
- broccoli salad with honey-yogurt dressing
- pan blistered shishito peppers
- kale with mushrooms, garlic and lemon
- kale & sugar snap pea skillet
- green beans with herbs & pine nuts
Ingredients
- 5 unit large carrots peeled and sliced into rounds
- ¼ cup sliced shallots
- ½ cup golden raisins
- ½ cup fresh flat leaf parsley stems removed, washed and patted dry
- ¼ cup mint leaves washed and patted dry
- 1 TBSP fresh dill
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup olive oil
- 2 TBSP warm honey
- ¼ tsp cumin
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Place carrots in a large bowl. If not steaming, proceed to step number 3.
For steamed carrots:
- Fill a large bowl with ice water. Set aside.
- In a shallow saucepan, steam the prepared carrots for 5 minutes. Place the steamed carrots into the ice bath for 10-15 seconds to cool and then immediately drain. Pat dry. Set aside to cool.
To Assemble the Salad:
- Place the sliced shallots into a small bowl with the apple cider vinegar to soften the shallots.
- After 10 minutes, drain the shallots, reserving the vinegar.
- In a large salad bowl, toss the carrots together with the shallots, raisins and fresh herbs.
- Whisk together the apple cider vinegar, olive oil, warm honey, cumin, salt and pepper. Pour over carrot mixtures and toss gently. Chill for 30 minutes or up to 4 hours before serving.
