Purple carrots, you’re just so pretty. I want a dress that looks like you. It would fade from inky purple to pale, butter yellow and fit perfectly. In purple carrots dreams begin.
In attempting to make carrot roses with baby purple carrots…purple fingertips occur. Unfortunately pretty little purple roses did not occur. Baby carrots are just too small to wrangle into blooms.
I saw carrot roses on BraveTart, the blog of Stella Parks, and an immediate madness took hold of me. I want to put them on everything. I love BraveTart madly. I read it for months before venturing a comment. I’m kinda quiet that way when I admire someone’s work fiercely. Clearly I’m not alone. Stella Parks was named one of The Best New Pastry Chefs by Food and Wine Magazine this year. She makes desserts I want to eat and make and would bathe in if possible. She makes rainbow sprinkles. Do you really need to know more? Get over there!
I had many ideas for how to use carrot roses. This light, simple salad was a total whim. I just couldn’t let go of the purple carrots and somehow they needed to be involved in whatever I made. I’ve also recently discovered white cucumbers at a farmer’s stand in the Public Market. And if you visit this sty regularly you already know I have a thing for black sesame seeds.
So this is my impromptu creation made from foods that make me want to dip-dye fabric and inspired by a pastry chef who steadily inspires me.
White cucumbers, English cucumbers, strawberries and curling purple carrot slivers are lightly dressed with a ginger, lime and sesame oil dressing then festooned with carrot roses and dotted with black sesame seeds.
You can find the directions for creating carrot roses over at BraveTart. I added fresh ginger to the simple syrup that thick carrot peels are quickly cooked in. They taste like candy. It took me about four tries…not counting the failed baby purple carrot versions…to teach my fingers how to coil and twist roses.
This is the prettiest salad I’ve ever made. It reminds me of making paintings and that lost in color and line feeling I have when I do actually take out my brushes.
Dear BraveTart…I oink you!
Happy summer!
Recipe: pretty bunnies
Summary: A simple, summer salad inspired by BraveTart’s carrot roses.
Ingredients
- carrot roses (link provided in instructions and in blog text to BraveTart’s directions and recipe. I added 6 or so slices of fresh ginger to the simple syrup)
- 1/2 Tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh, minced ginger
- pinch of kosher salt
- 1 baby purple carrot, peeled and in peels
- 1/3 white cucumber, sliced thin
- 1/4 English cucumber, sliced thin
- 2 strawberries, sliced
- black sesame seeds
Instructions
- Make the carrot roses. Here’s a link to BraveTart’s recipe and directions.
- Mix the lime juice, ginger, sesame oil and salt in a small bowl and set aside.
- Peel the purple carrot and then make thin peels.
- Toss white cucumber slices, English cucumber slices, sliced strawberries and purple carrot curls in the dressing.
- Plate the salad.
- Sprinkle with black sesame seeds.
- Add carrot roses.
- Make it pretty.
- Enjoy your handiwork and eat it up.
Preparation time: 15 minute(s)
Cooking time: 5 minute for simple syrup for carrot roses and 1 minute for carrot roses
Number of servings (yield): 1
Copyright © fatpiginthemarket. Recipe by fat pig. Microformatting by hRecipe.
