Maria’s Best Carrot Salad

Maria’s Best Carrot Salad is an easy healthy salad made with fresh carrots that are given a quick boil until they are perfectly tender to the bite, then tossed with a sweet-tangy vinaigrette made with fresh garlic, oregano, extra-virgin olive oil and white balsamic vinegar.  Simple and deeply delicious, Maria’s best carrot salad boasts all its enticing flavors and gets rid of all the notions of this so-called “boring” vegetable.

What makes Maria’s Best Carrot Salad so good?

The garlic and oregano give a distinctive but subtle favor, creating a reaction to ask-” What’s in this salad?” And the longer the carrot salad sits and marinates, the more the vinaigrette will infuse its flavors into the carrots themselves making them taste AMAZING!!

I make this carrot salad all year long, and even though we posted this one years ago, I finally got around to taking new photos, giving it a fresh look.  I felt I had to post this one again, since everyone’s been asking for the recipe.

This happens to be our mom’s recipe and we think it’s the best carrot salad in the world!  She puts her heart and soul into everything she makes.

We even put her name on this one, Maria’s Best Carrot Salad, just because we know it’s always a huge hit at every gathering we bring it to.

We think this is a very versatile side dish to serve that goes with practically anything!

Mom cuts her fresh carrots into sticks, similar to the size of French-fries.  The carrots are quickly boiled for a few minutes until they are al-dente,  and tender to the bite.

Then she tosses them with her freshly homemade vinaigrette and sets her carrot salad aside to marinate for a while. You can make this carrot salad up to 2 days ahead, then allow it to sit out on the counter for at least 1/2 hour before serving.

Mom has been making this classic Neapolitan carrot salad known as “insalata di carrote” as long as we can remember.  She use to make this salad weekly for Dad; it was his absolute favorite salad.

Now, every time I make it, I remember him.

Her fresh carrot salad always brings a bright color, along with the refreshing taste of carrots to the table. They’re neither bland nor boring.  Just a simple recipe to use your fresh carrots in a salad as well as getting your family to eating more of them!

Enjoy!  …. and Thanks for stopping by!

Here’s a Tip: Mom always makes her salads using fresh carrots. However, if you are short for time, you can use frozen pre-cut carrots, but you need to remember to under cook them a little, and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process.  If you over cook them, they will lose their flavor, become soggy, and they won’t taste good.

These are the ingredients you will need to make Maria’s Best Carrot Salad:

• 1 pound bag of fresh carrots, (about 10-12 small carrots)
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 4 Tbsp. white balsamic vinegar
• 1/8 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 garlic clove – minced
• pinch of organic ground cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes
• salt & fresh ground pepper, to taste

Peel carrots and cut into rectangular sticks, about 2 inches in length.  Place carrots in a medium pot of water, and bring water to a boil.  Add a pinch of salt and boil the carrots for a few minutes, about 3 to 4 minutes, until the carrot are tender to the bite. Do not over cook the carrots, they should be crisp and tender.

Drain, and quickly blanch them in ice cold water for a few seconds to stop the cooking.  Place the carrots into a colander and allow them to drain well.

Place them into your salad bowl or platter, drizzle with olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, add fresh minced garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Gently toss the carrots, until well combined.  Cover and set the salad aside at room temperature to marinate, at least one hour before serving.

Before serving them, I always recommend to taste the carrots once more, they may need a little extra olive oil and vinegar since the carrots will absorb some of the vinaigrette while it sits and marinates.
Best served cool or at room temperature.

Serves 6 to 8

Looking for ideas for Carrots?  Try our Green Beans and Carrot Salad – Italian Style! that will ‘wow’ your guests! And our easy Carrot and Spinach Dip for a new and tasty dip!

Hello friends, are you cooking with us?  If you make this delicious salad, leave a comment on the bottom of this page.  Snap a photo and hashtag it on Instagram #2sistersrecipes, or on Pinterest.  We’d love to see what you cook!

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Thanks for stopping by!

Anna and Liz