This French grated carrot salad is yet another dish whose beauty lies in its simplicity. The recipe’s easy steps bring out all that’s good about carrots — their brightness, sweetness, and juiciness. The result is wildly addicting but still healthy.
An Everyday French Dish
In France, carrot salad is so commonplace that it can be found in small plastic tubs at any-and-all grocery stores. Most likely with citric acid added, and perhaps a little food coloring for customer appeal, it will have been sitting in the cooling aisle for an uncertain amount of time. From this point of view, it’s not always the most enticing dish, but like most commercially prepared food, it can taste good.
I remember enjoying the juiciness of those salads from all their sitting around. Or pausing between bites and marveling at the oddly long carrot strands, feeling envious of the perfectly designed contraption that had effortlessly churned them out.
At school cafeterias, carrot salad was an often present starter dish, looking indifferent and self-assured. For unlike other starter dishes (which, to correct a misconception, are called entrées in French), it had the certainty that it’d be eaten. Take me for example. Even if I wasn’t hungry, a few bites would be enough to get me started. Or, as they say back home, l’appétit vient en mangeant — appetite comes when you eat!
Texture is Flavor
A perfect entrée, carrot salad is light, delicately salty, and has a natural sweetness that beautifully opens the appetite. It’s also a great illustration of “texture is flavor.” The simple process of grating carrots and allowing them to mingle with an acid and salt transforms their mouthfeel. Without using heat, the crunchy roots are turned into a bright pillowy mess with deliciously bold flavors.
Don’t let appearances deceive you: though this dish may be elementary, it is no less brilliant. The carrots, while technically still raw, are rendered not only tastier, but easier to digest. The grating, the acid, and the salt break down the fresh roots before they reach the recipient, pre-chewing them so to speak. Then the fat present in the dressing helps us lucky eaters absorb all the beta-carotene those lovely roots contain.
Serve in a simple white dish in small quantities. But by no means stick to this: after all, I’m one happy lady if all I have for dinner is a hefty bowl of carrot salad. And if you store it airtight in the fridge, it will supply you with uplifting carrots for days.
About this Recipe
This recipe is less of a complicated map to a mysterious island than it is the reminder of an idea.
It goes without saying that this dish is all about the carrots. Since they’re the star, it’s best to use quality ones recently pulled from the dirt. Firm and bright, they will glow in the light. And if you have the privilege of using such carrots, peeling becomes superfluous. But don’t sweat it; any carrot that’s alive will do! Just give them a good scrub with a vegetable brush and you’re good to go.
Bon appétit!
>> If you love the sweet crunch of pickled carrots, you’ll enjoy this Bahn-Mi for Today and Tomorrow.
>> For another classic carrot recipe, try the classic French combo of Peas & Carrots.
Have you made grated carrot salad before? What’s your favorite way to eat carrots otherwise? I’d love to hear about your experience with this bright vegetable in the comments below!
Grated Carrot Salad Recipe — Salade de carottes râpées
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh carrots – about 6
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar – or fresh lemon juice, apple cider vinegar
- ½ tsp fine grain mustard
- 1.5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil – or other oil you have on hand
- ½ tsp coarse salt – or to taste
- 2 tsp minced curly parsley – or carrot tops
Instructions
- Wash the grit off the carrots. Choose a dish or container that will hold your finished salad.
- Add about 2 tsp of vinegar to the dish, then about 1/2 tsp of mustard. Mix well with a fork, before adding about 1 tbsp of oil, mixing well again to emulsify. Now that the dressing’s done, the main task is to grate the carrots.
- If you have several graters, I would test to see which one yields the cleanest carrot cuts — aim for thin carrot strands. If your grater’s holes are too large, the magic simply won’t happen, and you’ll end up with coleslaw instead. If they are too small, you run the risk of making a fibrous pile of juice. But if you’re unsure, err on the side of thinner rather than thicker strands — as I did here. Grate all the carrots, making long strands if possible.
- Add the grated carrots to the sauce and season liberally with salt. I like to season the carrots directly, rather than seasoning the dressing because it’s easier to eyeball this way (about 1/2 tsp coarse). Mix amply, taste again, and adjust the flavors if needed as carrots can vary in flavor. If you carrots are particularly bitter, you may want to add a touch of honey or sugar. But resist over-seasoning — the flavor should be acidic and salty-sweet yet still delicate.
- Mix in a bit of finely chopped curly parsley — the French parsley par excellence — or carrots tops because, why not? Serve the bright, fluffy mess as a starter, side dish, or sandwich filling.
Leave a Reply