Friday 12 June 2015

Carrot Noodle Salad with Charred Courgettes

Whilst I write this the sun is shining bright, not a cloud in the sky, and I'm enjoying a super-refreshing green juice. These are the kind of days I crave. The warmth of the summer sun on your skin makes you feel truly nourished and relaxed. The increase in temperature also means using more fresh and raw ingredients in my cooking, which are great to help give you that summer glow. 

This is a lovely little salad, making use of my current favourite kitchen toy: The Spiralizer. Seriously, if you don't have one already I seriously recommend buying one. They aren't expensive and make rustling up quick, highly nutritious and seriously satisfying meals super easy. They're also really versatile making noodles, spaghetti and ribbons out of a massive selection of veggies. Mine is by HemsleyHemsley but there are a quite a few different types available if you're interested. If you don't have a spiralizer then don't worry you can also julienne or grate your carrot for this recipe.


To serve 2, for a main meal, you will need:

2-3 Carrots
1½ Courgettes
4 Spring Onions
Handful of Pumpkin seeds
3 tbsp cold-pressed Rapeseed Oil
1 tsp Wholegrain Mustard
2 Lemons
Salt Flakes
Coarsely ground black peppercorns
Carrot Tops, to garnish

Heat a cast-iron skillet / griddle pan to top heat. Slice the courgette diagonally, no thicker than 1cm. Pour 1 tbsp rapeseed oil into a small bowl with ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp black pepper. Brush the oil onto the courgette slices and set aside the remainder. The pan should be really hot now, press the courgette slices onto the griddle and let them sizzle. Cook on top heat for around 5 mins per side, this should ensure that you have great charring in the form of thick black stripes. If you are making this salad as part of a BBQ then char them on the BBQ if you like - they appreciate a good smoke. Once cooked remove from the pan onto a plate and set aside.

Set up your spiralizer and scrub your carrots. Chop off the top and bottom of the carrot to create flat, parallel edges. Fit your desired blade, I have used the thin-noodle attachment. Attach the carrot to the spiralizer with the thinnest end near the blade. It can take a few practices to get it right at first, especially with a vegetable as slender as a carrot. Once you have made your carrot noodles pull them apart and pop them into a large bowl.

Now for the dressing. Grab the bowl with the remainder of the oil, salt and pepper mix from earlier. Add the mustard, juice of 1 lemon and another ½ tsp black pepper. Whisk together and pour over the carrots. Use your hands make sure the noodles are all fully coated. 


Plate the courgettes and carrot noodles together. Slice the spring onions and throw on top. Wash a small handful of carrot tops before ripping up and adding to the plate with a sprinkling of pumpkin seeds. Serve with a wedge of lemon to squeeze over at the table and enjoy!

I love the vitality of this salad, it's so fresh and full of goodness. This dressing is so incredibly versatile too and I use it on all sorts of salads! It's earthiness with a touch of zest is great with root vegetables like carrots and it's a great match for beetroot or celeriac. 


The veggies used in this recipe have mainly come from our weekly veg delivery from Abel & Cole. It's great getting fresh, organic goodness delivered at home and I'd definitely recommend trying it if it's available in your area.

5 comments:

  1. This is my kind of food! Absolutely fantastic and the colours, flavours and textures are awesome!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Vicky! So sorry for such a late response, hadn't seen your comment until now!! Thank you :-) hope you've given it a go, it's delicious!

      Delete
    2. Hi Vicky! So sorry for such a late response, hadn't seen your comment until now!! Thank you :-) hope you've given it a go, it's delicious!

      Delete
  2. Hi Vicky
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