Shaved Carrot and Asparagus Salad with Goat Cheese, Mint, and Pistachios

Last Saturday morning I went to the farmer’s market, planning to check out what fresh green vegetables were finally in season and then decide on a side dish for an impromptu dinner party Joe and I were cooking at his apartment that night. Nice try, me! The market was still largely in winter hibernation mode, with lots of carrots, potatoes, mystery apples from last fall, and a lot of baked goods. It was important to try some of those to see if they might qualify as side dishes.

The menu needed something light and bright, so I went with carrots and decided to make a fresh, lemony carrot salad.   I also cheated a little and pretended I found asparagus there, because you might already be able to find it, and because there was enough in the grocery store to convince me it’s in season somewhere.

This is an easy, versatile and absolutely delicious side dish. The shaved carrots and asparagus are tossed in a simple lemon juice and olive oil vinaigrette, which softens them slightly. The cumin in the dressing gives the salad an earthy, Moroccan air, and the mint, goat cheese and pistachios turn a simple bowl of vegetables into a dish bursting with flavor and lots different textures in each bite. If a vegetable side could be a showstopper, this would definitely be it.

The only real work here is the vegetable prep, which takes a little patience, but is so worth it, especially because you can make this whole dish ahead of time and let it sit in the fridge until dinner. (Then just add the mint, goat cheese, and pistachios before serving.)

While the asparagus is shaved with a simple vegetable peeler, there are a few different ways you can cut the carrots. You can spiralize them, you can cut them by hand with a sharp knife (a little time consuming, but works!) or use a julienne peeler.  I bought one last week on Amazon for $10, and it was a total revelation.  If you like to make zucchini noodles, butternut squash noodles, or other vegetables cut into long strips (cucumber! radish! potato?) you definitely need this thing. The blade is a regular peeler on one side, and julienne on the other, and is much sharper than other peelers I’ve used. Just be careful with your fingers!

Like many of my recipes, this salad serves 4-6 people, but you can easily double it for larger groups. Just get a friend to help with the vegetable prepping! (Winkie promised he would help, but he had trouble using the peeler.)

Print Recipe

4.60 from 5 votes

Shaved Carrot and Asparagus Salad with Goat Cheese, Mint, and Pistachios

Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 1¼ pounds carrots, trimmed and peeled (about 2 bunches)
• 1 pound asparagus
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (1 lemon)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ cup shelled, lightly salted pistachios
• ¼ cup chopped fresh mint
• 1 (4-ounce) log plain goat cheese, crumbled

Instructions

• Using a vegetable peeler, shave the carrots into thin ribbons, turning the carrot in your hand slightly after each peel. (The width of the ribbons will depend on the peeler you're using. ) Place the carrot ribbons in a large bowl and reserve any leftover pieces you couldn't reach with the peeler.
• Trim 1-inch from the bottom of the asparagus spears. Lay them flat against the cutting board, and holding each spear at the thick end of the stalk, shave the asparagus into ribbons with the peeler. Chop any pieces of carrot and asparagus you weren’t able to reach with the peeler into 1-inch pieces and add them to the bowl.
• In a glass measuring cup, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper and cumin. Pour over the carrots and asparagus, and toss well with tongs. Add the mint and pistachios, reserving a few tablespoons of each for serving, and toss gently.
• Sprinkle the goat cheese over the salad and garnish with the reserved pistachios and mint. Serve immediately.

  Copyright 2017, Lidey Heuck, All Rights Reserved