Nopea porkkanasalaatti
Following my brunch on Sunday, I was left with a pile of ingredients to use up, including a big bunch of Finnish carrots and a couple of oranges. It is so hot in Finland at the moment, I decided to make something quick easy and fresh so hence this quick carrot ribbon salad. The dressing is fresh and orangey and the toasted cumin seeds and chilli give the salad a little spice. I would recommend dressing this just before serving as the acid in the dressing begins to soften the carrot. If you do need to make this ahead of time, store all the chopped ingredients in the fridge and just dress when needed. If necessary refresh the carrot with some ice cold water, which should crisp it up a little.
Quick Carrot Ribbon Salad – serves 4 – 6 as a side
500 g carrots
1 pomegranate, seeds removed
1 tsp cumin seeds
juice of an orange
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp gluten free tamari or soy sauce (I usually use Clearspring Organic Tamari)
1/ 2 tsp chilli flakes
squeeze of lime juice (optional)
maple syrup (optional)
Start by washing and peeling the carrots. Use a peeler to cut the carrots into thin ribbons. You will more than likely be left over with some carrot that is too small to peel, so keep for a soup or stock.
Toast the cumin seeds in a dry pan, until they release their flavour. Add to the carrot ribbons.
Whisk the orange juice, sesame oil, soy sauce, chilli flakes and taste. If your oranges are particularly sweet you may need to add a squeeze of lime. If they are too sharp add a little maple syrup. However carrots are fairly sweet at the moment and you want the dressing to have a little tang to it.
Carefully toss the dressing through the carrots and finally sprinkle with the pomegranate seeds. Have a final taste and season if necessary, the salad should be fresh, a little tangy and you should be able to taste the carrot. Serve immediately.
A Brit in Helsinki 