Shaved carrot & fennel salad with toasted pepitas and cumin lime vinaigrette
Here’s a secret: I’m really bad about writing down recipes. So much so that I’ve thought about making this blog recipe-less. And by that I mean less structured and sans exact measurements, because that’s how I cook. If this blog had a tagline it would be “everything to taste” because well, that’s how I cook and it’s what I love about cooking. I love that everyone has a different palate and that my sweet spot (that point when you know you’ve nailed the balance of flavors in a dish) is different from yours. It’s what makes cooking creative and fascinating. So with that in mind, I present to you a recipe-less recipe. For me, cooking is meditative and sometimes I get lost in the trance and forget to write things down (or just don’t feel like writing things down) and that’s what happened here.
Important to note: the below is a serving for one, because this dish was a result of clearing out produce in my fridge that was about to go bad and I had small amounts of things. Also because I’m quarantining alone. Feel free to double, triple, quadruple it.
Ingredients
Carrots (I used 3 large, 3 very tiny ones), shaved thinly with a vegetable peeler
Fennel, half a bulb shaved thinly (I used a mandolin but you can also thinly slice)
Ramps (you can totally use scallions here or in place of ramps or scallions, grate some garlic into the dressing), roughly chopped, including leaves
Pepitas aka pumpkin seeds, toasted (I just toasted them carefully over medium-low heat in a pan on the stove top for about 5-7 minutes or until fragrant and browned a bit)
If you have any fresh herbs laying around, this would be great too! Cilantro or chives would both work nicely
Dressing
Juice of one lime
About a tablespoon of honey
About a tablespoon of rice wine vinegar
Cumin and any other spices you’d like (I added coriander and cayenne). I used about a teaspoon or two of cumin and good pinch of the other spices
Good pinch of kosher salt + few grinds of pepper
Extra virgin olive oil - start with a tablespoon and add to taste
How to make it
For the dressing: whisk together lime, honey, salt, pepper, spices. If grating in garlic, grate in half a clove to start. Then slowly whisk in olive oil until dressing emulsifies. Taste and adjust to how you like it (I like a punchier dressing).
Toss carrots, fennel, ramps/scallions, fresh herbs (if using) with a few spoonfuls of the dressing, top with pepitas. Enjoy!
