Salade de Carrottes Râpées (Shredded Carrot Salad, French Style)

On Sunday, I posted some photos of the cooking I was doing. Today, I want to tell you a little bit more about the carrot salad I made.

The classic French carrot salad can be as simple as grating carrots and tossing them with a little lemon juice, sugar, and oil, but I’m rather partial to the version with Dijon mustard, which I think rather nicely compliments the flavors of the carrots. If you want to get fancy, you can also add golden raisins like they do at La Maison du Croque Monsieur (13th St, Manhattan) in their excellent carrot salad, but no pressure.

Carrot Salad

The authentic French version involves grating the carrots, but I prefer to do it on my hand mandolin slicer, which I kind of love. If you don’t have one, use your food processor. For your schmancier events, you can even julienne the carrots for nice, long slivers.

Salade de Carrottes Râpées (Shredded Carrot Salad, French Style)

2 lb carrots
1 Tbsp parsley, chopped (more to garnish)
2 Tbsp lemon juice, fresh squeezed
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
3-4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp of nutmeg
1/2 tsp of pepper (or to taste)
1/4 tsp of salt (or to taste)

Peel and shred your carrots using one of the methods described above.

In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, sugar, and Dijon mustard. Add the extra virgin olive oil and whisk until emulsified. Add the nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Taste and adjust sweetness, salt, and pepperiness to your taste.

Add in the shredded carrots and 1 Tbsp parsley. Toss well to dress. Let sit for at least 20 minutes (so the carrots can soak in the flavors).

Garnish with remaining parsley. Serve as a side.