Sunday, February 14, 2010

Carrot and Mint Salad

While grocery store organic carrots are fairly uniformly good, they still don't hold a candle to my farmer's local ones. I think it must have to do with time spent laying around in trucks, traveling hundreds of miles, getting slimy tops and sprouting little roots. I wouldn't sound a little biased here, would I?

This is a cool, tasty, and nutritionally-dense salad that compliments spicy dishes well. You can add toasted, crushed cumin seed for an Indian or Middle-Eastern theme.

It's always popular and vanishes quickly, so I usually double this recipe. I can't remember where I found it; it's written by hand in my recipe binder, with alterations I've made over time.
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CARROT AND MINT SALAD

Salad:
4 cups shredded (about 8 large-ish) carrots (I use fine-shred disc of food processor)
1/4 cup chives, chopped, or 1/4 cup red onion, chopped finely
1 small bunch mint, washed, spun, leaves removed from stems, and chopped (food processor works well for this)
1/4 cup raisins, golden or black, or dried cranberries, or any combination thereof

Dressing:
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

In large bowl, whisk dressing ingredients thoroughly. Add salad ingredients and toss well. Can be made a few hours ahead of time, or even the day before.

Serves 4

2 comments:

  1. I think *I* would love this salad and might even try my hand at it. However, it'll have to be in a much-smaller quantity, as my Mr.doesn't like carrots. Is that legal for a farm boy from Idaho?

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  2. Hmm. But does he like mint? It is the dominant flavor. I suspect a badly-prepared, substandard carrot in your husband's past may have put him off them. I think it IS against Idaho law to serve bad carrots!

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