French Carrot Salad
French Carrot Salad is a humble little side dish that will absolutely steal the show. I fell in love with it in Paris 10 years ago, where the French serve it with just about everything. I don't know why this isn't a thing in America: crisp, sweet, freshly grated carrots tossed with a super easy but PUNCHY honey-dijon dressing. It’s crunchy, zippy, a little sweet, a little tangy, and solidifies the carrot's status as My Favorite Vegetable.
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 97kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound carrots peeled and grated (5-6 medium carrots)
For the dressing:
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest from 1 lemon
- 1/4 cup lemon juice freshly squeezed (1 large lemon)
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt (use less salt if all you have is table salt)
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper freshly cracked
- 1/4 cup olive oil high quality
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley finely chopped
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, zest 1 large lemon with a microplane grater, until you have about 1 teaspoon zest.
- Use a citrus reamer to juice the lemon into the same bowl. You need 1/4 cup lemon juice, so if you have small lemons, use 2 lemons.
- Add 1 tablespoon dijon mustard.
- Add 1 tablespoon honey.
- Add 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Use 1/2 teaspoon salt if you are using table salt.
- Add 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste. Freshly cracked it best, if you have a pepper grinder!
- Whisk everything together.
- While whisking, slowly add 1/4 cup high quality olive oil. Make sure you whisk the whole time so that the dressing emulsifies!
- Peel 1 pound of carrots. (Or don't, and just scrub them well.)
- Grate the carrots. Don't chop off the leaf end of the carrot, that way you can use it as a handle when grating the carrots.
- Chop 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, or your favorite herb. Add the grated carrots and parsley to the bowl with the vinaigrette. Toss it all together.
- Serve right away! You have to say "voila!" when you place it in front of your guests! ;)
- Storage: This salad keeps well in the fridge for up to 5 days!
- Make ahead: You can make this salad ahead of time exactly as written. If it's for a special event, I would make it 24 hours ahead (48 hours max), as the carrots do get soggy from the dressing eventually.
- Freezing: Nope.
Notes
LEMON SUB: This recipe is also good if you substitute orange juice for the lemon and add some of the zest. Go easy on the honey (or omit it) because oranges are a lot more sweet!
VARIATIONS: I also tried a version where I added a pinch of cumin and a pinch of coriander. It was super tasty and perfect for serving with Indian or Mexican food.
Nutrition
Calories: 97kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Potassium: 198mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 9557IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 22mg | Iron: 0.3mg
