Oof, the weather has been really warm up here in the Pacific Northwest. I overheard someone at the grocery store say that they were looking forward to go down to California to cool off. Apparently, it’s 10 degrees cooler in Anaheim than here in the Seattle area.
You’ll never hear me complain about the heat since I spend so many months complaining about the gloom and rain. However, with days on end in the upper 80s and the humidity running high, I’m not interested in turning on the stove. Most of my food prep has just been directly from the fridge.
Oh, I know some of you are thinking, what’s the big deal? Why not just stay inside with the A/C? Well, we don’t have much of that around here. Lots of stores and restaurants don’t even have A/C because we usually don’t need it.
Again, I’m not complaining. I’ve just been pretty warm lately. It’s not complaining when I’m just stating a fact. Honest.
I only mention all of that because I have several recipe posts planned but I’m putting all of that on hold until it cools off a little. So, for now, I’ll show you this refreshing carrot apple salad. It’s super quick if you use a food processor and it keeps very well in the fridge. Plus, it’s delicious, quite healthy and best of all, no extra heat required!
Several Names, One Meaning
Since I always seem to write a little bit about German culture, history or recipe origins, I thought this would be a good place to mention this. In German, there are two names for carrot that are widely used – Karotte and Möhre. With all my researching, I couldn’t find out any more than this – Möhre is more commonly used in Northern Germany, while it’s Karotte in the Southern areas. Sometimes you might hear Möhrrube or gelbe Rübe, but that’s more of a dialect thing. I read that Karotte is supposed to be more commonly used in standard German, but in every German cookbook I have, they all write Möhre.
Oh languages, how wonderfully confusing they all are.
Carrot Apple Salad
(Karotten-Apfelsalat)
Ingredients:
- Half a pound of carrots
- 1 tart apple (I prefer Granny Smith)
- 2 Tbsp orange juice
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 3 tsp honey
- 1 tsp canola oil (sunflower oil is the best for this, if you have it)
- Handful of sunflower seeds
- Pinch of salt
- A few twists of freshly ground pepper
Optional:
- Handful of dried cranberries or raisins
- Drizzle of Sesame Oil
I adapted this recipe from the Dr. Oetker version I found online. This type of salad is traditionally served with a heavy meat dish as carrots and apples are high in dietary fiber and aid with digestion.
Wash, peel and then cut the carrots into 3 inch pieces.
Carrots are always various sizes when you get them in a bag, so I end up using my scale to weigh them out. Plus, when you’re using a food processor, it’s just easier to grate it without worrying whether or not you have enough to fill cups.
Thoroughly wash, cut and core the apples. I’ll leave it up to you whether or not you want to keep the skin on. If you have a source of apples that haven’t been sprayed, then definitely keep the skins as the skins have much of the apple’s fiber. Plus, it provides a little extra colour.
Now, for the sake of making things easier, let’s shred everything together in the food processor. The carrots and apples are going to have to be mixed anyways, so why not?
Place all the lovely shredded bits into a bowl and set aside for now.
Next, let’s get started on the dressing. It’s just a matter of putting everything in a small bowl and blending it together.
The salt and pepper amounts are per your tastes. I usually end up putting a little extra ground pepper on it at the end.
Lastly – you guessed it – the dressing gets poured over the carrots and apples. Mix it together nicely and we’re all done!
No, wait – let’s not forget to garnish this salad with a healthy handful of sunflower seeds. I love the extra crunch and nutty flavour they provide. You can try it raisins or dried cranberries on top too, if those flavours and textures are in your wheelhouse.
The secret ingredient that I use just for me is to finish it with a drizzle of pure sesame oil. I didn’t include it in the recipe because it’s not necessary but I just loooove it.
There you have it, a very healthy, crunchy salad that’s excellent for summer eating. Try it out next time you’re going to grill as a healthier alternative to coleslaw.
Tell me about your favourite summer salad in the comments below!
As always,
Diony
Annd… just as I’m about to post this recipe, the weather has cooled off quite a bit. Maybe I need to think about jumping on my next post right away before it heats up again.
Carrot Apple Salad
Ingredients
- Half a pound of carrots
- 1 tart apple I prefer Granny Smith
Dressing
- 2 Tbsp orange juice
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 3 tsp honey
- 1 tsp canola oil sunflower oil is the best for this, if you have it
- Handful of sunflower seeds
- Pinch of salt
- A few twists of freshly ground pepper
Optional
- Handful of dried cranberries or raisins
- A drizzle of sesame oil
Instructions
-
Wash, peel and cut the carrots into 3 inch pieces. Thoroughly wash, core and cut the apple into quarters. Shred carrots and apple together in food processor. Mix together in a bowl and set aside.
-
Blend together all the ingredients for the dressing. Pour dressing over the carrots and apple mixture and stir until thoroughly dressed. Garnish with a handful of sunflower seeds and a few extra sprinkles of salt and pepper.
Recipe Notes
Adapted from Dr. Oekter
Emmmm good!!!