This is a great summer salad, a punch of flavor, a burst of color, and you can make it in the morning to serve later with dinner or take on a picnic. When the weather is hot, do ahead cold dishes are so much easier, along with something barbecued outdoors to keep your kitchen cool.
Yield 8 to 12 servings
8 large carrots in mixed colors, orange, yellow, purple and red, peeled
Dressing:
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
2 large cloves garlic, finely minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon of jalapeño pepper, finely minced
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup your best olive oil
¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Place the whole carrots in the boiling water and cook until just cooked through (not too soft), about 8 minutes. Test my pushing a thin knife through the carrot. It should go through with just a little bit of resistance. Drain the carrots immediately and set them aside to cool.
When the carrots are cool, trim the ends and slice them in thin, one eighth to one quarter inch thick circles. Put the carrots in a salad bowl. Place all the salad dressing ingredients in a gall pitcher or measure. When you are choosing garlic make sure to choose cloves that are firm and almost crisp with absolutely no green shoots coming out. If there are green shoots coming out of the garlic, it does not have a good flavor. Stir all of the dressing ingredients together.
Pour dressing over the carrots and toss. The carrot salad is best of made a few hours ahead of time and allowed to sit in the refrigerator. Leftovers keep for a few days.
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