Friday, November 13, 2009

At Market...Rainbow Carrots


Rainbow carrots are lovely, aren't they? Lovely in the way that you really don't need to do much to make them look and taste really spectacular and special...because they already are. Lovely in the way that somehow, just by flashing a fancy color, an ordinary root vegetable is transformed in to something extraordinary. Lovely in the way that in about the five minutes it takes to julienne them, you can have a crisp and tasty slaw that goes well with just about anything....but I'm really getting ahead of myself here.

First you need to pull off those green stems and give them a good scrub. You don't peel these because the brilliant color of the purple carrots is only on the outer layer. So just make sure they are good and clean and any little root fibers are scrubbed off.



Then comes the small matter of julienning them. I have a mandoline, which is perfect for a job like this...if you like doing dishes. But come the end of the day, I have usually been doing dishes for hours and hours so that is not something I really look forward to. Nor do I have the impeccable knife skills required to cut such long slivers of carrots. So luckily, I found this peeler thingie that actually slices the carrots into julienne strips and fits into my dishwasher's silverware compartment. Cool, huh? Alternately, you can cut the carrots into thicker ribbons using your regular vegetable peeler, which isn't as slaw-ish, but also does the job.


Finally, these gorgeous ribbons of carrot are tossed with lime juice, soy sauce and toasted sesame oil for a delicious, and nutritious (and beautiful) salad. If you can't find them in your farmers' market, don't despair! Plain orange carrots will work just fine....



Sesame Carrot Slaw

serves 4

Ingredients:

1 bunch of rainbow (or regular) carrots, cut into long julienned slices
juice from 1 lime
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
handful of chopped cilantro

Directions:

Place the carrots in a medium bowl. In another smaller bowl, whisk together the lime juice, sesame oil, soy sauce and honey. Drizzle over the carrots and toss well (I used my hands). Sprinkle with the toasted sesame seeds and chopped cilantro. Serve immediately.

10 comments:

Linda said...

This looks so pretty! I haven't seen those carrots in our markets yet, but I hope they get them.

Trish said...

Wow....absolutely and simply...grin...beautiful! Wonderful salad, great photography and of course...your subject was most cooperative in presenting itself in the colors of the rainbow. I must tell you, I have never seen carrots like these. Stunning!

KMS said...

beautiful! love rainbow carrots...

Laurie said...

Hi Alison! Love your rainbow carrots and the slaw looks heavenly. I was so happy to see you have a box of Cape Cod cranberries. Nice score!

Velva said...

I saw beautiful colorful carrots ( just like yours) for the first time in Union Square in NYC two weeks ago. I have read abut them a million times, never saw one where I lived. You are absolutely right these carrots are just stunning.

Amanda said...

How cool! I've never seen anything like these before. What a nice way to add some color to a dish. Great find!

Jennie said...

What a beautiful salad! Gorgeous! I am now on a mission to find these carrots!

Ann Mah said...

Simple and beautiful - my favorite kind of recipe. Lovely photos, too!

Lori Lynn said...

Hi Alison - I found your blog because I am going to post about rainbow carrots, in the next hour or so, and I was looking to see what others wrote. Nice recipe you have here, glad to find your blog!
LL

Alison said...

Thanks ladies...I hope you can find rainbow carrots too!