I was lucky enough to receive a box of Colorful Harvest vegetables to sample. I’ve posted other recipes on my blog using Colorful Harvest vegetables and they ended up using my Cauliflower Spanish Rice recipe under the “blog recipes” section of their website and facebook page. I was excited to try their Whole Rainbow Crunch™ Carrots and jumped at the chance when they offered to send me some. The carrots come in 2 lb. bags and I was sent 3 bags… which I shared with friends.
The colorful Rainbow Crunch™ Carrots are grown from heirloom seed varieties. I loved the different colors… shades of orange, red, yellow and a white (similar in color to parsnips) – The added color = a diversity of nutrients and antioxidants. They are basically a fun, foodie-licious way to add lots of flavor and color to your meals.
The carrots look so rustic, pretty sure I’m going to roast the ones I have left.
I’ve made carrot ribbon salad before, nothing fancy – just a basic vinaigrette using red wine vinegar. This time I wanted a different flavor profile, so I got to work in the kitchen using items that I already had on hand.
The Ingredients:
1 lb. Rainbow Crunch™ Carrots
3-4 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Cube Dorat Crushed Ginger
1 Cube Dorat Crushed Garlic
1 Medium Sliced Shallot – thinly sliced
Zest from 1/2 a Lemon
2-3 Tablespoons Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
2 Teaspoons Honey
1 Tablespoon Flat Leaf Parsley – chopped
Crushed Red Pepper
Salt
I got started making my carrot ribbons. I ran my veggie peeler the entire length of each carrot – holding the carrot firmly on the cutting board. I chose to not peel my carrots first.
I was left with a bunch of square carrot cores – which I chopped up and threw into a bag and placed into the freezer – to later add to something, maybe soup.
I filled a large bowl with ice and cold water from the fridge and then started a big pot full of water on the stove. I added a pinch of sea salt to the big pot and brought it to a roaring boil. I dropped my carrot ribbons into the boiling water, counted to 25 and then removed them quickly and placed them into an ice bath.
I got to work on the vinaigrette while the carrots sat in the ice bath. I added 2 of the 4 tablespoons of olive oil to a pan set to medium heat. I dropped in my frozen cubes of ginger and garlic and waited for the cubes to thaw out and separate. You could definitely use fresh garlic and ginger, I just didn’t have any. I took the mixture off the heat while I prepared the rest of the ingredients.
I zested 1/2 of the lemon and then juiced it. I sliced the shallot, chopped the parsley and measured out my honey.
I added the lemon zest, lemon juice, shallots, honey, parsley and remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and whisked everything together. I then added 3 good shakes of crushed red pepper and a pinch of salt. You can use regular pepper if you want – the red did add some heat.
I placed my carrot ribbons on paper towels and patted them dry with more layers of paper towels. I then put my ribbons back into the dry/empty ice bath bowl and I poured the vinaigrette over the carrot ribbons and gently tossed.
No more winter blues. This salad screamed SUMMER! and I loved every bite. You could definitely play around with measurements – less olive oil, more lemon juice… less honey, etc. I don’t thing there is a right or wrong to making the vinaigrette.
Do you have a favorite carrot recipe to share? I have 2.5 more lbs. of carrots to eat and we won’t even talk about the amount of cauliflower I have. Be on the lookout for another cauliflower recipe soon.
Link to printable recipe on my Recipage.
Enjoy!
