Actually Tasty Carrot Salad

I highly dislike raw carrots. I know that they are good for me, I know that they are healthy, just — ew — they taste like dirt. But, then I found this recipe in the most recent issue of Everyday Food. Their version of this salad used grated carrots. Myself, because all we had were peeled, baby carrots and I was not going to try and grate those; I used the food processor and had carrot bits.

Whether you grate or process, this is a great way to eat your raw carrots. And it even tastes really good! It works especially well alongside any type of pan-Asian meal. We had this alongside some buckwheat soba noodles, shrimp and curry sauce.

I also envision being able to bring this to some kind of potluck and having people be like, “carrots??” and making a face. Then they will try it and exclaim, “Wow!” And I will reply, “I know!”

Actually Tasty Carrot Salad
5-6 medium carrots, peeled and grated (or pulsed in a food processor until they are the size if rice grains)
2 tbsp sesame seeds
2 or more tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled, finely diced (if you are going the food processor route, just toss it in with the carrots)
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and ground pepper
Garnish: fresh cilantro leaves

Combine the carrots, sesame seeds, 2 tablespoons of the vinegar, oil garlic and ginger in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate for at least an hour. Taste and adjust the vinegar if needed. Serve.