Ever since we got La Empanada Food Truck up and running last month (More on that soon – I promise!), I’ve been experimenting A LOT with salads. This because we want to keep the menu on the truck pretty fresh, which means regularly coming up with new seasonal salads to accompany our gourmet empanadas. It’s been somewhat challenging though because these salads need to be unique AND practical. In other words, quick and easy to portion and serve out of a window. And in addition to that, they need to work alongside our wide variety of empanadas, flavor wise. We tried doing tossed green leafy salads, but those don’t seem like the way to go in such tight quarters with all the heat from the oven and fryer going. Plus, they were kind of difficult for people to eat while standing. So for now, we’re sticking with pre-dressed salads that fit nicely into a 6 oz cup – so, like a slaw, but not a slaw.
And unlike most salads, this one gets better as the dressing soaks in, which is definitely a plus when you’re pre dressing a salad to be served later. The dressing is simple to whip up. Just olive oil, lemon juice, curry powder, paprika, maple syrup, salt, cayenne pepper, fresh parsley and a spoon of mayo. Mayo??? Yea, trust me. So good you can drink it….and I kinda did.
I used a veggie peeler to make the long slices of carrot. The fatter the carrot you use the better. I find that rotating the carrot as you go works best to keep the strips consistent. It doesn’t actually take that long to do and it’s worth it!
Graceful carrot ribbons with pear wedges and shaved almonds, tossed in a well-balanced curry vinaigrette. Oh yes. Crunchy carrots with the suppleness of ripe pears is divine. And those carrot ribbons are so much fun to spin around your fork like spaghetti!
Table linen and tray by: Fog Linen Work. Fog Linen produces a line of daily use linen products for home and clothing. Beautiful stuff, and I’m thrilled to have them as a new partner here on Honest Fare.
Peruse the Fog Linen Work online store and see what I mean…
Recipe
Prep time: 20 minutes Serves 4. This is a great salad to make in advance. Let it chill in the fridge until you’re ready for it (up to 24 hours!) and the dressing will soak in nice without making the carrots too soft or anything. Feel free to leave out the mayo if vegan, it just helps the dressing stick.You need:
- 8 large carrots
- 1/3 cup shaved almonds
- 2 ripe anjou pears
- Handful fresh curly parsley
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1-2 Tablespoons of water
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- Juice from 2 lemons
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- Cayenne pepper to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
- 1 tablespoon mayo
Directions
- Combine olive oil, lemon juice, paprika, curry powder, maple syrup, pepper, mayo and half of your parsley (diced). Place in jar and shake until very well combined. Set in fridge to chill. thinn with water if necessary.
- Wash and remove first layer of skin on carrots using veg peeler. Cut off ends. Work the veg peeler from top to bottom, rotating the carrot every few peels to keep the strips consistent and get the best yield from the carrots.
- Wash and cut pears into wedges, removing seeds and rough heart from center. Add pears to carrots and toss. Roughly chop remaining parsley and toss in with carrots and pears. Add almonds and toss salad again with your hands. Now add in dressing and toss very well again.
- Let chill and serve very cold!
20 Comments
This looks divine! The carrot ribbons are inspired.
Looks gorgeous and pear with carrot is such a lovely combination for autumn. I never normally have mayo in the house but I wonder if a dollop of yogurt would do the same job (I’ll report back if I try out making it this way).
p.s looking forward to hearing more about the empanada truck
table linen and tray is nice, but where did you get that glass? I LOVE it!
Wow, this looks so tasty! Im a huge fan of carrot salads…so yummy and I love how you can keep the leftovers better than with lettuce salads (much easier for packing lunches too!). This version looks really wonderful…love the addition of the pears, which I bet is super good.
What a playful combination of ingredients! I am lucky and have most of them in my kitchen (sans parsley and mayo) and can’t wait to try out a version for lunch.
Sophie- I was actually thinking the same thing about the yogurt. Go for it!
Hi there! I made this to go with my dinner this evening and it was super tasty! Love that dressing in particular – so many good flavors in there! Goes perfectly with the carrots and pears. Thanks for sharing! :-D
What a great idea! I’ve recently been making ribboned-zucchini salads, but it hadn’t occurred to me to give a carrot the same treatment.
I love the idea of pairing it with pears, and I might toss mine with some bleu cheese, which sounds like it’d be a nice complement to the sweet-and-salty almonds.
Thanks for this idea! And the photos are truly lovely.
This looks so pretty and fresh!
Looks delicious!
It’s incredible how much differnence makes cutting carrot not into typical slices but ribbons…
Have to try this recipe!
Love the colors. I can’t wait to try it; I have a client I think will adore these flavors.
I’ve had curry on the brain for a while now, this looks absolutely delicious! I love how you’re using carrots and pears together, too. Love the texture combinations. Will definitely have to give this a try :)
This salad looks so delicious and healthy too. I love the unusual combination of carrots and pears.
I just stumbled onto your blog and wanted to say you have a beautiful blog here. Everything looks delicious. Congratulations too on your Empanada truck (I read that you got the funding you needed). :) I’ll be back for more delicious honest fare :)
After having this from La Empanada, I am so excited to make it at home!
pear and carrot what an inspiring combination! one to try out asap
Wow what a scrumptious and beautiful salad. Lovely shots too!
This looks like something straight out of a cookbook!
I am excited to try something like this :)
Currently cooking this up in my kitchen! I don’t see what to do with the olive oil though! So far the dressing smells and looks incredible. Can’t wait to try it out :)
Hi Sarah,
The olive oil goes in the dressing. I forgot to mention that in step one of the directions, but I’ve added it now. Thanks for pointing that out!
Carrot ribbons are my favorite! Beautiful salad.