Along with the roasted chicken and gravy, a savory carrot salad is another important part to our favorite dinner.
My mother used to get us to eat carrots by making a carrot salad laden with raisins, pineapple, and a sweet dressing. It worked, and we did eat it. But it wasn’t exactly the type of dish that we were all crazy about or wanted week after week.
So when I was older I pretty much avoided the whole carrot salad scene. That is…until I happened to try a savory carrot salad. We are pretty much addicts now. Seriously, we often have this once a week or more. I thought that maybe Joel and I had unusual tastes and that’s why we liked savory carrot salads so much. But once I introduced this salad to friends, it seemed like they enjoyed it just as much as us.
I realize that it makes perfect sense. Carrots are sweet by themselves. Instead of overloading your senses with sweetness by adding in more sweet ingredients, they taste great when balanced with tart/savory/salty ingredients.
This salad is basically shredded carrots tossed with a savory vinaigrette. How easy is that? I have varied this recipe a lot by changing the vinegar and the herbs. It’s open to a lot of variation. But this is still probably our favorite way to make it. It also happens to be a frugal side dish, considering how cheap I can get organic carrots! Another score for this salad!
Savory Carrot Salad
4 Carrots, shredded (I have done this by hand, but a food processor sure saves time!)
2 Tablespoons of Balsamic Vinegar
2 Tablespoons of Extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons of Dijon Mustard
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon of dried basil
A dash or two of salt and pepper
Put shredded carrots in a bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients in a small bowl and pour over carrots. Gently toss. Taste and adjust with salt, pepper and extra vinegar and oil, if needed.
You can serve right away, or chill before serving. Beware that the carrots will start losing their crispness if you let it sit to long in the vinaigrette.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve never had a carrot salad before, but this looks promising enough to try something new, thanks!
Awesine recipe, thank you.
I just made this for dinner. I served it with roasted chicken, rice & roasted butternut squash. It turned out so yummy. My 2 yo announced that the carrot salad is her favorite. She had 5 scoops. She has never said anything was her favorite. She’s a pretty picky eater so that’s saying something. She’s one who would rather go to bed hungry then eat something she doesn’t like. Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
I love this salad SO much. mmmmm.
Oh, this sounds good! I might just try it this week!
I made this tonight, and it’s absolutely fantastic! Thank you so much for posting this recipe. I used whole grain mustard (out of dijon), apple cider vinegar instead of balsamic, and 1 T fresh basil. Awesome! I posted about it tonight on my blog. Thanks again.
thanks for posting a wonderful ’salad’. i was in the search for a carrot salad that wasn’t that garbage ‘carrot raisin salad, with the goopy mayonaise. yuk. this is more like a true usage of carrots and more in line with a morrocan salad.
A favorite in our family came from my grandmother, who was a notoriously bad cook. We grate carrots finely, slice some green onions, green and white parts top to bottom (green & white) about 1/8 – 1/4″, and mix with mayonaisse, salt and pepper to taste.
It needs to be served immediately because it gets weepy from the carrot juice. Also, too much mayo can make it mushy.
There is nothing better in this whole world! I’ve never seen this posted on the internet but it is wonderful, especially on a hot summer evening.