Carrot Salad – Rachel Cooks®

Generally you simply want a easy salad to spherical out a meal and if you happen to’re trying to swap issues up out of your commonplace home salad recipe, this carrot salad delivers. It’s simply as straightforward as tossing collectively a bag of greens with balsamic French dressing however it’s one thing a little bit bit completely different.

Reasonably than taking part in second fiddle to lettuce, carrots are the star of this salad recipe, with recent cilantro and roasted nuts as key supporting gamers. All of it comes along with a vibrant, sweet-and-tangy French dressing, which brings out the very best in humble carrots.

That is positively a recipe that’s larger than the sum of its elements—it appears so easy trying on the ingredient record, however it’s completely scrumptious!

Simple Carrot Salad

Unbelievable texture. Salads are about taste, sure, however they’re simply as a lot about texture. I like how this salad BRINGS IT with the crisp carrots and nuts. If wilted lettuce completely ruins a salad for you, you’ll respect this carrot salad particularly as a result of you may make it forward with out affecting the standard of the salad.

Virtually easy. When you’ve julienned the carrots, all of the onerous work is finished—simply whisk collectively the dressing and let the salad marinate a bit to convey collectively all of the flavors.

Versatile. You may serve this carrot salad as a aspect dish, however I additionally love utilizing it as a topping so as to add crunch to turkey burgers or fancy up savory corn muffins.

Ingredient Notes

• Carrots: Don’t use child carrots! Common carrots have far more taste. I wish to search for additional giant carrots as a result of they’re simpler to julienne or grate. We examined the recipe with packaged julienned or matchstick carrots however discovered that they weren’t as flavorful and didn’t take up the dressing as nicely.
• Recent cilantro: Cilantro haters, worry not! You may swap in parsley or recent mint leaves. 
• Roasted nuts: I like cashews on this salad however peanuts or pistachios would additionally work nicely.
• Lemon juice: For the French dressing dressing, you’ll need to use freshly squeezed juice, which has a extra vibrant taste than bottled.
• Olive oil: This can be a recipe the place you’ll be able to put that fancy extra-virgin olive oil to make use of you probably have it.
• Honey: Including honey to the dressing is a pleasant option to intensify the pure sweetness of the carrots, and it additionally provides steadiness to the acidity and tartness of the lemon juice.
• Dijon mustard: Mustard packs a variety of punch in a small bundle, giving the dressing depth and oomph. It additionally acts as a emulsifier, in order that the lemon juice and olive oil mix collectively.
• Seasonings: Floor cumin, salt, and pepper.

The best way to Make Carrot Salad

Make the dressing. Whisk the lemon juice, olive oil, honey, mustard, and seasonings collectively in a big bowl. Select a bowl that’s giant sufficient for the entire salad so that you don’t must get one other bowl soiled.

Prep the carrots. Peel and rinse the carrots first. Use a mandoline to julienne the carrots or a field grater to grate the carrots. Some meals processors come outfitted with a mandoline blade; you probably have one, that might work nicely, too.

Assemble. Add the carrots to the bowl with the dressing, then add the cilantro and toss to coat. Don’t add the nuts till you’re able to serve the salad in order that they keep crisp.

Marinate and serve. Let the salad marinate for quarter-hour, then stir within the nuts and serve.

Simple Recipe Variations

• Add an apple. Select a agency apple—both tart like Granny Smith or one with a sweet-tart steadiness like Pink Girl—and julienne or chop it.
• Chik-Fil-A copycat. Stir in crushed pineapple (well-drained) and raisins to imitate the favored salad. Their salad is made with mayonnaise and many sugar so your salad received’t be precisely the identical however I believe this recipe is definitely a lot better!
• Give it a protein increase. Rinsed and drained canned chickpeas pair nicely with the flavors on this salad and make it a extra substantive aspect or perhaps a gentle fundamental course. You could possibly additionally add feta cheese, finely diced sharp provolone, or one other cheese you get pleasure from.
• Fold in fruit. Dried fruit corresponding to raisins, golden raisins, currants, dates, or dried cranberries add additional taste to this carrot salad.

Serving Concepts

Retailer this carrot salad in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 3 days. The feel of the carrots will soften throughout storage. Toss every thing collectively once more earlier than serving and add extra nuts, if desired, to revive a number of the crunchiness.

• Within the backside of a giant bowl, whisk collectively the lemon juice, olive oil, honey, Dijon mustard, cumin, salt, and pepper till nicely mixed.

  2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, ½ teaspoon floor cumin, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon coarse floor black pepper

• Peel and julienne (or coarsely grate) the carrots and place in the identical giant bowl.

  4 to five giant carrots, about 1 pound

• Add the cilantro, and toss every thing collectively till evenly coated.

  ¼ cup minced recent cilantro

• Let the salad sit for a minimum of quarter-hour within the fridge to marinate the carrots within the dressing. Add nuts instantly previous to serving; stir nicely. Style the salad and add extra salt or pepper, if desired.

  ¼ cup chopped roasted nuts

• Serve chilled or at room temperature.

• Alter seasoning: If you happen to use salted nuts, chances are you’ll need to omit the salt within the recipe. Test the seasoning after you add the nuts and modify as obligatory.
• Add fruit: Apple is a tasty addition. Use 1 agency apple, julienned or finely chopped. Dried fruits corresponding to raisins, golden raisin, currents, dried cranberries or dates will be added, if desired. A small can of crushed pineapple, nicely drained, is nice, too.
• Add protein: Stir in 1 can (15 oz.) chickpeas, rinsed and drained. You could possibly additionally add crumbled feta cheese or finely diced cheese of your alternative.
• Storage: Cowl and refrigerate the salad for as much as 3 days. The nuts will get softer. If you already know you’re going to order a number of the salad for later, retailer the nuts individually. 

Serving: 0.75cup, Energy: 141kcal, Carbohydrates: 9g, Protein: 2g, Fats: 12g, Saturated Fats: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fats: 2g, Monounsaturated Fats: 8g, Sodium: 172mg, Potassium: 126mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 2622IU, Vitamin C: 4mg, Calcium: 17mg, Iron: 1mg

Diet info is mechanically calculated, so ought to solely be used as an approximation.

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