This warm coconut roasted carrot salad is served with fresh mint and a lovely twist on a traditional salad.
How many times do you wish you could just get a re-do on life like it’s a Super Mario video game and you’ve stock piled 15 of those mushrooms for that time when you eff up and fall off into oblivion by chasing a rolling coin? Honestly, sometimes when I do something stupid I literally think to myself “let’s just Ctrl Z” that moment. How awesome would that be if it existed in reality and not just on a computer?
That pretty much sums up the entire first 6 months of pictures on this blog.
Woah, they’re embarrassing. The worst part is I actually thought they were ok at the time (which makes me wonder what I’ll think of these in 12 months…).
So I decided this roasted carrot salad recipe needed a re-do. If I showed you the original pictures you’d probably think it looked more like dog food than a salad a human would want to eat. I actually remember taking those pictures at the time outside on my deck and thinking “yeah, let’s put the serving dish next to that random rock, it’ll add to the “composition” of the photo. Ha. Hahaha.
It was/is a great recipe, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say no one was rushing to their kitchen to make it after I posted it. The fact that I had about 10 readers, 9 of which were family members at the time might’ve also contributed to that, but whatever.
So carrot salads are apparently like Mario (or Luigi. Personally, I was a Luigi fan, fat plumbers are overrated) and get second chances. If they get the ability to throw fireballs next, then I’ll be jealous.
Coconut Roasted Carrot Salad
Ingredients
- 2 pounds carrots
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1/2 cup feta cheese, optional
- 1/4 cup dried cherries
- 1/4 unsweetened shredded coconut
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1.5 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- handful of fresh mint, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Wash, trim and peel carrots (if not using organic) and slice them diagonally into coins.
- Add garlic, almonds and carrots to a large bowl.
- Melt coconut oil and pour over carrot mixture.
- Add salt and pepper to taste and toss to combine.
- Spread carrot mixture onto a baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes, flipping/stirring a few times during roasting.
- While carrots are roasting, whisk together the olive oil, honey and apple cider vinegar in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Once carrots are finished roasting, remove from oven and let cool for about 10-15 minutes on the baking sheet.
- Once cool, add carrot mixture to a large bowl with the feta (if using) and dried cherries.
- Pour the dressing into the bowl and toss to combine.
- Garnish with the mint leaves before serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
Wow, I love carrots and I love coconut but never would have come up with putting them together. I love it! I might be making this soon. :)
Also, I just started my own food blog (after stalking foodgawker and blogs for a few years) so I am excited for the time when I can look back on these pictures and laugh!
G’day! Great photo, looks very healthy!
Who would go for some of this now? ME!
Cheers! Joanne