Carrot pea mint salad recipe

This is a guest recipe from a husband and wife powerhouse: Jeff is an James Beard nominated food photographer, having shot an array of top notch cookbooks. Susie is the author of  Return to Sunday Supper food blog featuring recipes that I know your family will love.  Please welcome Susie and her clean, light and refreshing Carrot, Pea and Mint Salad. ~Jaden

carrot pea mint salad recipe

I’m Susie Kauck, and I started my blog, Return to Sunday Supper, because I want to emphasize the need for a significant, celebrated, face-to-face meal shared by family and friends at least once a week.  What better way to add value to our lives than to join together around a weekly meal that brings family and friends closer?

I think of this gathering as an antidote to “life as usual” – hectic schedules, physical and emotional distance between us, reliance on fast food and addiction to TV and computer screens.  What better way to add value to our lives than to join and inspire others around a weekly meal that brings family and friends closer?

Return to Sunday Supper also presents nutritional information for some of the foods featured and documented reasons why it is so important for families to eat together.

carrot pea mint salad recipe - mintMy blog features family favorite classics and updated recipes each tied to a personal story.  I invite you to share your Sunday supper stories and recipes so that together we can motivate others to start their own Sunday supper traditions.  If you would like to participate, please contact me, susie@returntosundaysupper.com.

This week I have been thinking about the simple pleasures of the bounty of spring and that inspired this lovely salad.  It’s simple, beautiful, and easy to prepare.

I think that I love carrots because I can vividly remember the charming illustrations of carrots in the Beatrix Potter stories from when I was a child.  My favorite way to eat them them then and now was raw….just like Peter!  Of course, if you eat them uncooked they retain all of their wonderful nutrients…just one more reason to love this salad.

 

 

Fresh Carrot, Pea and Mint Salad Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 2 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

For the salad:

  • 4 large carrots, washed, trimmed and peeled (about 1 pound)
  • 1/2 cup of fresh (shelled) or frozen peas (defrosted)
  • 1 tablespoon fresh mint, torn or cut with scissors into small pieces
  • pea shoots for garnish, if you like

For the Vinaigrette:

  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (or grape seed oil for a lighter taste)
  • 1 lemon
  • 3 sprigs mint
  • 1 teaspoon honey (optional) if you like sweeter vinaigrette
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • For this salad you can use a mandoline slicer or a grater (manual or food processor). Slice carrots lengthwise using a mandoline slicer or grate them. Keep sliced carrots in a bowl of ice water and drain them before assembling salad. Blanch fresh peas in boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain and immediately immerse peas in ice water for two minutes to stop the cooking process, then drain. If using frozen peas, you can just defrost them. Arrange carrots on individual salad plates. Top with peas. Right before serving, sprinkle with chopped mint.
  • For the Vinaigrette: Crush 3 sprigs of mint and add to the olive or grape seed oil. Leave the mint in the oil for 10 minutes then remove the mint. You will now have mint infused oil. Zest the lemon first, then squeeze to render 1 teaspoon zest and 2 tablespoons juice. In bowl whisk together oil, lemon juice, zest, honey (optional), salt and pepper. Drizzle dressing over salad, garnish with pea shoots if you like, and serve immediately.

Notes

Recipe by Susie Kauck, Return to Sunday Supper
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!