French-style grated carrot salad

Written by Catherine Saxelby on Monday, 26 July 2010.
Tagged: dairy-free, easy, egg-free, high fibre, lower carb, raw, salad, vegetarian

Ready In: 10 minutes
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: nil
Serves: 4

I love this simple carrot side salad which I first tasted in Lyon in France. I've modified it slightly from Saveur.com. The trick is to use a mandolin-type grater so you get a longish grate. I like to add a little parsley for colour but you can omit this if you like. This carrot salad looks stunning on a buffet of other salads - it's a great contrast to the usual green leaves or tomato-cucumber types. The oil in the dressing is important as it assists your body to absorp the beta-carotene - which is the orange colour found in carrots and is fat-soluble.

Ingredients

5 medium carrots (about 500g)
LEMON MUSTARD DRESSING:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons chopped parsley, plus extra for garnish
freshly ground black pepper

Nutrition per serve

449 kilojoules (107 Calories), 9 g fat (including 1 g saturated fat), 4 g carbohydrate (including 4 g sugars), 3 g fibre and 150 mg sodium. Read our nutrition rating system.

Directions

1. Peel and julienne or coarsely grate carrots. Place in a medium bowl.

2. In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice and mustard. Add to carrots along with the parsley and pepper. Toss well.

3. When ready, serve on a pretty plate or bowl, garnish with extra parsley. You can serve this on a bed of lettuce leaves too if you like.

Variations

Substitute 2 tablespoons fresh chopped dill instead of parsley.
Toss through ½ cup sultanas and 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts - this is a popular with children.
Toss through 1 diced red apple that you've cored but left the skin on.