Carottes Râpées (Parisian Carrots Vinaigrette)
In James Oseland’s World Food: Paris, from which this recipe is adapted, the humblest of French starters gets fancified. Normally, carottes râpées, the tangy carrot salad that every French cook as in their bag of easy tricks, is grated — in fact râpées means grated. Instead, Oseland has us cut the carrots into fine julienne. It’s labor-intensive because he wants us to use “young carrots with lots of snap and sweetness” — which are more trouble to square, slice thin, and then julienne than big ol’ soup carrots would be.
If you have the patience, and love the look, it’s worth it; use the recipe below.
However, 18 months after we first published this recipe, we devised a fresh approach to the dish — use a vegetable peeler to shave the carrots into ribbons. It’s much easier and quicker than cutting julienne, and we love the effect even more. Here’s a link to the game-changing recipe.
If you do julienne, you’ll have a lot of bits and pieces leftover from squaring off all the slim carrots. Don’t worry about trying to julienne those — just save them to use for soup, or to nibble on or dunk in dip. We wound up with 4 ounces of unjuliennable pieces, but still had plenty to serve four, and the dressing was just the right amount.
Look for slender carrots with their greens still attached — these tend to be younger and more garden-fresh than the ones in plastic bags. You’ll probably want two bunches.
Serves 4.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3/8 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into very fine 3-inch-long julienne strips
1 tablespoon finely minced fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, plus more for garnish
Instructions
1. In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, mustard and salt. Then, whisking continuously, slowly add the oil until fully incorporated. Whisk in the pepper.
2. Place the carrots and parsley in a medium bowl, and toss to combine. Pour the vinaigrette over them, and mix well. Taste and adjust seasoning. Garnish with a bit more parsley.
Carottes Râpées (Parisian Carottes Vinaigrette)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 3/8 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into very fine 3-inch-long julienne strips
- 1 tablespoon finely minced fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, plus more for garnish
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, mustard and salt. Then, whisking continuously, slowly add the oil until fully incorporated. Whisk in the pepper.
- Place the carrots and parsley in a medium bowl, and toss to combine. Pour the vinaigrette over them, and mix well. Taste and adjust seasoning. Garnish with a bit more parsley.
