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Raw Carrot and Beet Salad with Feta, Mint and Harissa

Good morning and Happy Friday!

Raw Carrot and Beet Salad with Feta, Mint and Harissa

Today, I’m sharing a vibrant raw salad made with purple carrots and beets.  These nutrient-packed vegetables are grated, and then tossed with fresh herbs and a bold citrus-harissa vinaigrette.  After a brief rest in the fridge, the salad is finished with crumbles of salty feta cheese.

Carrots and beets have been showing up regularly in my weekly Specialty Produce Farmers Market Box, so I’ve been trying out all sorts of cooking preparations to use them up.  This method of soaking grated veg in a spicy, acidic dressing is common in Moroccan cuisine.  And it’s brilliant!  The acid in the lemon juice tenderizes the grated beets and carrots while infusing with tons of flavor.  Flavors here include orange, garlic, olive oil, paprika and harissa, a spicy, North African chile paste.  Continue reading for the recipe.

Carrots and Beets

Grated Beets

I grated my carrots and beets with a Microplane box grater, but you could certainly use a food processor fitted with a grating disc to simplify the task.  It’s really not hard to do it by hand though.

Recently, I read that lemon juice helps to remove beet stains from your hands, but I’ve yet to test this out.  Does anyone know if it’s true?  I usually just rinse my hands frequently while working with colorful vegetables (purple carrots stain too).  That removes most of the pigment.

Harissa and Citrus-Dressing

The dressing here is made with olive oil, orange zest, orange juice, lemon juice, garlic, paprika and harissa.  Harissa has really become a staple at my house.  Sometimes I’ve got my homemade version in the fridge, while other times I’ve got a tube of store-bought harissa at-the-ready.

Check out my recipe for Hard-Boiled Egg Toast with Harissa Butter here.

Beet Hands

Carrot and Beet Salad

I partnered with Specialty Produce on this article.  All thoughts, opinions and recipes shared in this article are my own.  If you live in the San Diego area, and you’d like to sign up for a Specialty Produce Farmer’s Market Box, get details here!

I’ve got a number of other carrot recipes and beet recipes on Kitchen Konfidence.  Check them out below!

Roasted Carrot, Fennel and Blood Orange Salad

Roasted Carrot, Fennel and Blood Orange Salad

Pickled Carrots with Dill and Serrano

Picked Carrots with Dill and Serrano

Calavera Catrina Cocktail

Calavera Catrina

Roasted Beet Salad with Creamy Caraway Dressing

Beet Salad with Caraway Dressing

Beet and Turnip Gratin

Beet and Turnip Gratin

Roasted Beets with Red Onion, Poblano and Lime

Roasted Beets with Red Onion, Poblano and Lime

Pickled Beet Deviled Eggs

Beet Pickled Deviled Eggs

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Comments

  2. I love this kind of salads, and usually it’s quite a challenge to surprise me. But Brandon, you’ve nailed that! Not only is this salad delicious, but the pictures are amazing. Love this fabulous mess; If I were an owner of an art gallery, I would definitely opt for your work on display 🙂

    • Haha yes!! I need to try this next time with golden beets and carrots to minimize the mess. But the purple is so pretty :). Thanks Greg!

  5. What a beautiful, vibrant and healthful salad, Brandon. Feta is always a fav and like the pairing of the mint and parsley. So, how long to get those beet stains fading from your hands? 😉

    • Thanks Cristina :)!! Haha I washed them off shortly after taking the photo. I did have to wipe down my camera a bit too!

    • Yeah this might be a bit too adventurous for the kiddos, but perhaps the color would entice them ;)?

  10. Like you, I adore beets. Though I will admit to feeling a bit awestruck when I look at my hands. That telltale red all over (and not just my hands) – if someone walked in mid-way through one of my beet adventures, they would think I was an axe murderer. The combinations in this salad are magnificent. I always buy my harissa – will have to try your recipe for homemade.

  13. I LOVE all of the color and flavors going on here! Such a great vegetable side dish for all of my favorite meat-centric Middle Eastern entrees!

  14. What stunning colors and flavors! I love the idea of soaking the veg in acidic dressing to tenderize. I wish I had a way to easily clean red beet juice off hands, I’m curious about lemon juice and will have to try it out!

  15. Hi Brandon! The pictures are amazing and I bet it taste really delicious too. It’s raw yet very vibrant! I would definitely love this salad recipe of yours. Thanks for sharing this!

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