Belarussian Carrot Salad

Mrs B's Note:

This recipe comes from “Delia’s Vegetarian Collection”; Delia of course, being the famous Delia Smith. She in turn was given this recipe by a family she dined with on a trip to Minsk. Delia says this “simple, but oh-so-good carrot salad…..is prefect for winter when other salad ingredients are not at their best". But it would be good year round too. This recipe needs standing time to allow the flavours to develop; the minimum time for this is shown as cooking time. Once made, the salad will keep for two days in the fridge. Recipe posted for the Zaar World Tour 2005.

• Total Time: 3 hrs 20 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 3 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 1 lb carrot, peeled
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon coriander seed (scant measure)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (or any flavourless oil)
• 1 small onion, peeled and sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper

Directions:

1. Grate the carrots in a food processor using a fine grater blade.
2. Place grated carrot in a bowl and pour over the vinegar and salt; mix ingredients well to make sure everything is evenly coated; Cover the bowl and place in the fridge for at least 3 hours (preferably overnight) while the flavours develop; When you are ready to assemble the salad, check how much juice the carrots have made and if necessary pour excess juice away.
3. Dry-roast the coriander seeds in a small frying pan over a medium heat (to do this, stir and toss the seeds in the pan for about 2 minutes, until they look toasted and start to jump); crush the roasted seeds lightly with a pestle and mortar .
4. Heat the oil in the same frying pan, add the onion and fry until golden; allow to cool slightly then drain the oil through a sieve on to the carrots; the onion has now served its purpose and can be used in another dish, or discarded.
5. Add the coriander seeds, garlic and cayenne pepper to the carrots, stir well and serve.

Reviews

[Kaarin]

I like the zest and texture of this salad. I made a half batch, and ended up getting virtually no onion oil, but the salad was still quite good. I used ready minced garlic for this, as I was concerned about raw garlic being too strong. Dh and kids wouldn't try this, but I liked it. Thanks Caroline!

[currybunny]

This is a really nice, tangy salad! I found the raw garlic flavour a little strong (and I LOVE garlic!) but overall this was such a quick, easy salad with lovely flavours - those toasted coriander seeds are ace! Thanks for posting!