Shredded Carrot Salad

Backpacks line the aisles at Target. The grocery store end-caps are filled to the brim with apple sauce and Capri Sun. That can only mean one thing: summer is coming to an end. And although Buzzfeed might be preparing for Fall, I will need to be carried into the next season kicking and screaming!

With any luck, we still have another 6 weeks of great weather ahead of us (where's that groundhog when you need him?). That means many more chances to throw a BBQ and eat outside with friends. It also means we need a new set of side-dishes to carry us through.

For that I give you Shredded Carrot Salad, or as it's called in France Carrottes Râpées (how impressed are you with my use of special characters?).  It is a staple food in France, and we ate it regularly when I lived there (a hundred years ago). Regrettably this wasn't one of the recipes I brought home with me, so I recently had to refresh my memory on the sauce ingredients. Once I had the basics down, (of course) I started to improvise.

This dish made great company for a ham sandwich (a hundred years ago) or a grilled steak with fries. When I eat it now, it brings back memories of warm sun, swimming pools, laughter, and little kids running around in the grass. It is bright, and sweet, and easy to make. And unique enough to cut the summer BBQ rut (if such a thing even exists).

Carrottes Râpées

A unique addition to any summer BBQ.

Ingredients

2 10 oz packages of shredded carrot
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons stone ground mustard
1 tablespoon dried onion
1 tablespoon dried chives
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and pepper

Instructions

In a large bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, and seasoning. Let stand 5 minutes. Add shredded carrot and mix with your hands to combine. Makes 8 servings.