Turn a handful of fresh ingredients into a beautiful spring salad ideal for holidays and entertaining. It's healthy, vegan and a show-stopper.
If you are looking for a stunning addition to your holiday dinner spread, look no further than this simple spring salad. Yes, it may look intricate, but this is a simple recipe! Use a veggie peeler to cut long, thin strips of colorful carrots. Thinly slice radishes and toss together with fresh pea shoots and toasted sliced almonds. Then drizzle with a quick lemon, maple and herb dressing and you have a vibrant, healthy, fresh salad.
the ingredients that matter
Fresh, simple ingredients take center stage:
- Multicolor Carrots. Using multicolor carrots is purely for aesthetics. Perhaps some people can taste differences between yellow, purple and red carrots, but our intentions are purely for presentation. We do, however, recommend buying firm and large carrots as you'll get better results when peeling ribbons.
- Pea Shoots. One of the harbingers of spring, pea shoots (pea tenders, pea greens) are the tender leaves and stems of a pea plant. They are crisp and tender, and their taste is somewhere between a sugar or snow pea and spinach or delicate lettuces. Above all, they are fresh and packed with flavor! See more below on what else to do with pea shoots.
- Sliced Almonds. We suggest using sliced almonds instead of whole or chopped as sliced will stick well to the other ingredients. Store leftover almonds in an airtight container in the freezer to extend their freshness. And be sure to toast before serving (see Recipe Notes).
about the technique
Be sure you have a reliable vegetable peeler before you get started!
- Peel, Peel, Peel. Use a vegetable peeler to cut long, thin slices of carrot as pictured above. To do this, lay the carrot flat on a cutting board, hold one end and run the peeler against the length of the carrot. Continue to peel long strips until the peeler hits the cutting board, then flip and continue peeling all sides. You'll be left with a long nub of carrot that you can no longer peel. Reserve this for another use (consider storing vegetable scraps in a ziptop bag in the freezer and use when making stock).
looking for more spring recipes?
Try our Seared Green Beans with Spiced Almonds or our Roasted Asparagus with Mint Gremolata recipes for the perfect holiday sides. Or try our Creamy Spinach Pasta for a quick, spring main course.
PrintRecipe
Carrot and Pea Shoot Spring Salad
- Total Time: 20
- Yield: About 8 cups 1x
Description
Turn a handful of fresh ingredients into a beautiful spring salad ideal for holidays and entertaining. It's healthy, vegan and show-stopper.
Ingredients
- 4 large carrots (about 1 ¼ lb.), preferably multicolor
- 2 ounce pea shoots (about 2 loosely packed cups)
- ½ cup thinly sliced radishes (about 4-6 medium radishes)
- ¼ cup sliced almonds, toasted
- ¼ cup loosely packed parsley leaves plus 1 Tbsp. chopped parsley leaves
- 3 Tbsp. lemon juice, from 1 lemon
- 1 ½ tsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp. maple or honey
- ¼ tsp. table salt, plus 1 pinch
- ¼ tsp. black pepper
- 4 Tbsp. olive oil
Instructions
- Use a vegetable peeler to cut long, thin ribbons of carrots. Lay a carrot on the cutting board, hold one end, then run the peeler lengthwise on the carrot to cut long, thin strips. Flip the carrot over and peel ribbons on the other side. You'll be left with a thin nub. Reserve for another use.
- Transfer carrot ribbons to a serving platter and top with pea shoots, radishes, almonds and ¼ cup parsley leaves.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together lemon juice, mustard, maple (or honey), salt, pepper and remaining 1 tablespoon chopped parsley leaves. Slowly whisk in oil until well combined. Drizzle dressing over carrot salad and sprinkle with remaining pinch of salt.
Notes
- Reserve leftover carrot nubs in a ziptop bag in the freezer for stocks and soups.
- Be sure to use larger carrots as you'll get better ribbons with longer, thicker carrots.
- To make ahead, assemble the salad and store covered loosely with plastic wrap in the refrigerator for up to 1 day. Drizzle with dressing just before serving.
- To toast the almonds, lay on a sheet tray and bake at 350°F for 6 to 8 minutes, or until lightly toasted and fragrant.
- Prep Time: 20
- Category: Salad
- Method: No Cook
- Cuisine: American
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