My brand spanking new shaved carrot salad is the perfect blend of savory and sweet, y'all. Raw carrot ribbons tossed with nuts and dried fruit. Then covered in an easy, 5-minute candied dressing that transforms each crunchy bite into a flavor explosion rocket ride that leaves you wanting more, more, more. Yep and yay...
Oh Fresh Salad, You're Soooo Candiedlicious...Yep...
For months and months now, I've had the craving and the vision for this original candied shaved carrot salad dancing in my head. Yep. It all started during the first dog days of summer, which in south Louisiana usually come in mid-May.
So, it was just after my birthday this year when the thought of candying raw carrots came to mind. And I've been pretty much unable to push these thoughts out of my head since. It's not that this recipe is expensive, because it certainly isn't. Or that it takes a lot of time because it doesn't. The timing was just never right for me to create it and then blog to y'all about it. Nope.
This shoddy timing was partly because of other things going on behind my blog curtain. And partly because I usually use carrots in my stews. And it's just been too stupid hot down here for me to even think about making a stew.
I've only got a few weeks left to endure this blazing hot heat and even more cumbersome humidity. So, I decided that finally getting around to taking this candied shaved carrot salad out of my head and into reality was the perfect way to transition from summer into fall...
How to Make Shaved Carrot Salad
To start, make the dressing and set it aside for the flavors to meld:
Now, use a vegetable peeler to make ribbons out of the raw carrots. To do this, just lay the carrot on its side, longways. Then, use the peeler to go a little deeper than you would to peel the outer layer off:
It takes 15 to 20 minutes to shave the carrots into ribbons, unless you've done this before and you're faster at it than I am. 🙂
Next, place all of the shaved carrot salad ingredients into a large bowl:
Then, cover with the dressing. And toss until well-combined.
And that's it, y'all!!
Crunchy from the mix of carrot ribbons, nuts and dried fruit. And dressed for the party in your mouth with the sweet, candied taste arising from the cinnamon, brown sugar, and honey. And a slight sour-y taste coming from the lime and Steen's Cane Vinegar, which helps this salad achieve its perfect, blissful balance.
When you put it all together, this salad is one amazing bite after the other! I knew that this shaved carrot salad was going to be good. But, I did NOT know that it was going to be this great!!
At first, you taste the limey, vinegary flavor. But then the taste soon gives way to the sweet cinnamon, honey, and brown sugar blend. And then the intermingling of the sweet and sour components hits your tongue RIGHT when your eyes are rolling into the back of your head from the raw, crunchy carrot ribbons.
Oh, the love for this one, y'all!! I'm going to start buying carrots especially for this one. But since it serves only two people at a time, you'll definitely want to double or even triple the recipe for company.
This is definitely the salad to serve to picky kids who scream and kick over eating just one bite of vegetables, cause chances are they will LOVE it and ask for more. This shaved carrot salad's also just as great for backyard cookout side dish fun as it is for a surprising holiday side...Cause it's certainly going to spark lively conversations and make the vegans, vegetarians and 'light-food-only' lovers feel some kind of special at your dinner table, y'all.
Share with those whose sweetness is perfectly balanced with their fierce, fiery nature. And see y'all on the yum side...
Shaved Carrot Salad
Ingredients
For the Candied Carrot Salad Dressing
- 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
- 1 ½ tablespoons Steen's cane vinegar
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons lime juice
- ½ teaspoon freshly grated ginger root
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- sprinkling of salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper
For the Shaved Carrot Salad
- 4 to 5 large carrots
- 2 tablespoons roasted unsalted walnuts
- 2 tablespoons raisins
- 2 tablespoons dried cranberries
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Stir all of the dressing ingredients together in a bowl. Set aside.
- Use a vegetable peeler to shave large carrot ribbons out of the raw carrots. You can also shred, dice or spiralize the carrots, if desired.
- Pour all of the salad ingredients into a large bowl. Toss to mix.
- Pour the dressing over the salad, then toss to combine.
- Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
The information shown is an estimate provided by a third-party, online computer-generated nutrition calculator, not a registered dietitian or certified nutritionist. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods and individual portion sizes, along with other factors.
See our full nutrition disclaimer here.
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