Bounty of the Season

Friends! It's been a while since our last recipe and we hope you've been finding some delicious ways to enjoy the bounty of the season. If you've been growing or finding fresh carrots at your local farmers market this one's for you! We found a gorgeous bunch of rainbow carrots that made this salad even that much more special, though a single color palate would be beautiful too. This recipe includes quick pickled ginger (pictured below) to add some extra pizzaz and another unique preparation to your repertoire. Homemade pickles in 60 minutes - yes please! And not to overshadow the preparation of these carrots into ribbons which are interesting to look at and even better to eat. Forget about a boring vegetable platter or garden salad - this is the recipe for your next summer gathering to savor and impress. Let's get to it!

Rainbow Ribbon Carrot Salad
Prep Time: 15 minutes + 1 hour for pickling
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes (includes 1 hour of pickling time)
Servings: 4 side salads, 2 main salads

Ingredients
Salad
6 large carrots
5 radishes
2 Tbsp quick picked ginger, minced
1 Tbsp chopped parsley
1 Tbsp sesame seeds (preferably unbleached)

Dressing
1 1/2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp tahini
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp water
½ tsp honey (we used clover honey)
¼ tsp sea salt
2-3 drops toasted sesame oil 
 
Quick Pickled Ginger
1 three-inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced thin
1 red radish, sliced thin
3 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp sea salt 
 
To make the pickled ginger, add the vinegar, sugar, and salt to a glass jar and stir until the sugar and salt have dissolved. Add the sliced ginger and one radish (for color) to the jar with the liquid and allow mixture to sit covered for at least 1 hour. Pickled ginger can be kept in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 7 days.

To make the dressing, combine olive oil, tahini, lemon juice, water, honey, sea salt, and toasted sesame oil in a bowl and whisk until combined. Dressing will keep in the fridge in an air tight container for up to 7 days.

To make the salad, wash and peel the outer skin on the carrots. Next use a vegetable peeler to shave carrots into long thin strips*.  Continue this process until all 6 carrots have been shaved. Using a sharp knife, slice radishes as thin as possible (this could also be done using a mandolin on the thinnest setting). Add chopped parsley, minced pickled ginger and sesame seeds to the carrots then toss with the tahini dressing and serve immediately. If you do not plan to serve the whole salad at once, keep the dressing on the side and add just prior to serving. Undressed salad will keep in the fridge in an air tight container for up to 3 days.  

*This process is similar to peeling outer carrot skins. We recommend holding carrots firmly in a clean dish towel and rotating the carrots as you shave. Once you get to the tougher center of the carrots shaving will become more difficult. When this happens you can stop and discard part of the carrots or save to enjoy as traditional carrot sticks.

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As we mentioned, the texture of these carrots really brings a uniqueness to this salad - reminiscent of pasta salad but light and fresh with a satisfying crunch. The radish rounds and quick pickled ginger provide a subtle spice and the creamy tahini dressing tops it all off, literally. We hope the fresh, local produce you're finding this summer is inspiring your own kitchen creations. 

Enjoy,
​Jess and Cecelia