Roast Carrot and Cabbage Salad in Turmeric Vinaigrette

Would you like to be seduced out of the salad rut you might be in? This concoction could be just the tonic you need to discover a new salad pathway, like a narrow curling street that leads to new experiences signaled by unusual combinations of spices and incense. Here, we have browned carrots caramelized in turmeric, rice wine vinegar, and soy sauce joshing with crunchy cucumber and scallion, adroitly refereed by a honey mustard vinaigrette. Here’s your ticket to finding it…

What You’ll Need

Roast Carrot and Cabbage Salad in Turmeric Vinaigrette

Portioned for one large salad or two tapas portions.

• 3 thin carrots, halved
• 1 zucchini, quartered and halved (8 pieces)
• 2 scallions, sliced
• 2 interior stalks celery with flowers
• 3 slices cucumber, quartered
• 3 leaves red cabbage, rolled tightly and sliced in tagliatelle width (1/4″)
• For the carrots: 2 tsp each rice wine vinegar and soy sauce, 1 tsp ground turmeric, 1 tbsp EVOO
• For the zucchini: 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp EVOO
• For the vinaigrette: 1/4 tsp minced garlic, 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1 tsp honey, 1 tsp coconut aminos, 1/4 tsp caraway seeds, 1 heaping tsp Dijon mustard, 1/4 tsp turmeric, 3tbsp EVOO

How to Make It

1. Wash and cut the carrots and zucchini, and put them into a broiling pan. Add their sauces, toss, and broil close to the fire. Arrange the carrots and zucchini with their flat sides up.
2. Mince the garlic, and add apple cider vinegar and caraway in a large salad bowl, so they can infuse.
3. Prepare the rest of the vegetables by chopping and slicing while watching the broiler; depending on the heat of your broiler, they could require 10-15 minutes.
4. Finish the vinaigrette in the large salad bowl by adding the honey, stirring it so it dissolves, adding the mustard, then adding the EVOO slowly while stirring with a spoon. Add the aminos and turmeric last.
5. Add the raw vegetables to the salad bowl. When the carrots and zucchini are browned, remove to a small plate, and put the cabbage into the broiling pan. Toss the long strips of cabbage in the leftover olive oil and soy sauce in the pan. Broil the cabbage until it softens, probably 5-7 minutes.
6. Plate the salad. Arrange the cabbage as a kind of nest, and arrange the carrot and zucchini sticks to your liking. Add the raw vegetables on top. A table!

Wrap Up

Roast Carrot and Cabbage Salad in Turmeric Vinaigrette Close-up

I love this salad because it’s a delightful combination of raw and cooked vegetables, and the Asian vinaigrettes add an earthly, piquant, roasty taste to our salad repertoire. Also, the cooked vegetables contribute a chewy texture to the salad, especially the carrots, and this contrasts with the crunchiness of the raw veggies.

This salad pairs splendidly with a spunky white or beer. Try Viognier or Gewürztraminer for something different. Or IPA.