recipes

springy shaved beet + carrot salad with parsley dressing

IMG_2017.jpg

for the salad:

2 beets and 2 carrots (chioggia striped beets are gorgeous in this, aren't they?)

or, 4 big carrots

baby greens (optional)

for the dressing:

1/4 to 1/2 bunch parsley

6 cloves garlic (you probably won't use all 6! but you might burn a couple, so better to start with more)

2 Tbsp olive oil

splash apple cider vinegar

juice of 1/2 lemon

salt and pepper to taste

method:

 If you've got a whole head of garlic around and 45 minutes, wrap the head in foil and put it in a 400 degree oven for 45 min. If you're short on time or garlic, or you would rather not turn on your oven, you can do individual cloves (peel on!) on the stovetop in a small pan or skillet. Medium heat, no oil, 15 min, turning every few minutes. Either way, the goal is to end up with garlic that has black spots on its peels but is very soft and not burned inside. When cool enough to handle, remove peels.

Combine dressing ingredients, starting with just 1/4 bunch parsley and 3 (peeled!) cloves of roasted garlic in blender plus the other ingredients. Blend until well combined. Let sit for a while before you taste.

Peel carrots and beets, then use vegetable peeler to create shaved beet and carrot ribbons.

Taste and adjust dressing to your preference, adding more of this or that, perhaps adding more parsley and/or more cloves of garlic one at a time if you didn’t burn them. 

Mix vegetables and dressing in a big bowl. Eat right away, or later. Without baby greens, this is a great salad to have on hand in the fridge for a few days. (Baby greens don't like to sit in dressing for very long - they will get mushy in a bad way).

Make it a meal – double the dressing, serve over chickpeas and farro (or any grain/lentil/bean combo).