Make Ahead
Rainbow Carrot Salad with Slow-Roasted Tomatoes
- Prep time 20 minutes
- Cook time 3 hours
- Serves 4 as a side
Author Notes
Shredded Rainbow Carrot Salad, with garbanzos and slow-roasted tomatoes
A quarantine-friendly salad, using pantry staples and fresh veggies that can keep for a while.
I love the bright, uplifting mix of flavors and textures. Sweet crunchy carrot shavings, soft satisfying chickpeas, and the savory umami flavor of slow-roasted tomatoes, plus a hint of bitter cabbage, all topped with a fresh burst of parsley. The dressing is simple yet satisfying with a good dose of tangy vinegar, and a squeeze of fresh lemon.
Shaving carrots by hand is actually kinda therapeutic and relaxing during a global pandemic, especially after reading terrifying news articles for hours at a time. The tomatoes can leisurely roast themselves while you're on that 3 hour Zoom conference call. Once these two pieces are done, the salad comes together in a flash.
This recipe was inspired by and adapted from Smitten Kitchen/Deb Perelman's Beach Bean Salad published on smittenkitchen.com on May 28, 2020 (https://smittenkitchen...). All of the salad ingredients are substituted, but the dressing is similar. The slow-roasted tomatoes are also inspired by Smitten Kitchen, from her post of August 14, 2008 (https://smittenkitchen...).
If you don't have grape tomatoes, a great substitute is bell peppers. Deb broils them whole for her beach bean salad and uses the juice in the dressing, but I prefer to slice them thinly and roast them on low heat (180-200 degrees) for 45 minutes or until the edges are dried and slightly charred.
Make a double or triple batch and pretend you're bringing it to a social gathering. And wherever you go, wear a mask.
—sarawolfie
Ingredients
-
1 14-oz can
garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
-
3 cups
rainbow carrots (about 4 medium carrots)
-
1 cup
green cabbage, thinly sliced
-
1/2 pint
grape or cherry tomatoes
-
3 tablespoons
olive oil
-
2-3 tablespoons
red wine vinegar
-
1 tablespoon
fresh lemon juice
-
3 dashes
garlic powder
-
sea salt, to taste
-
fresh ground black pepper, to taste
-
handful of fresh parsley, chopped
-
2 dashes
dried oregano
Directions
- 1) Slow roast the tomatoes: Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Cut tomatoes in half lengthwise and place them face up on a baking sheet. Drizzle with one tablespoon of the olive oil and sea salt to taste. Roast in the oven for 3 hours, checking them after 2 hours. They are ready when they are slightly shriveled and dried on the edges. This step can be done the night before, or several days before as these keep well in the fridge. You could make a big batch and have extra for snacking.
- 2) Prep the other veggies: Place the cabbage slivers in a large bowl. Peel the carrots with a handheld peeler, and then use the same peeler to shave the carrots into the bowl. You may end up with a variety of sizes and thicknesses, but this will only add more texture to your salad. I used mostly yellow and white carrots, with a splash of purple and orange ones. Make your own rainbow!
- 3) Assemble the salad: Drain and rinse the garbanzo beans, and toss them together with the veggies. Add the tomatoes, when ready. Add the remaining olive oil, along with the red wine vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, and oregano, and toss well. Season with salt and pepper and top with the parsley, and serve.
- Leftovers will keep well for several days in the fridge.
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