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German Carrot Salad

A classic recipe that’s meant to be made again and again.

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German Carrot Salad is simplicity at its best. Thinly sliced carrots are boiled until tender and tossed with sautéed onions, vinegar, oil, and parsley for a dish that’s both refreshing and comfortingly homey at the same time. 

This no fuss no frills recipe highlights the carrots with sweet onions, tangy vinegar, and bright herbs for the dish that’ll lighten the heaviness of starchy potatoes or fried meat. 

Unlike other carrot salad recipes that use shredded carrots, this recipe uses carrots that have been peeled and thinly sliced. When it comes to this recipe, there are two camps of thought — to cook or not cook your carrots. Here, this recipe opts for cooking carrots until they are tender but not mushy.

While the carrots are cooking, the finely diced onions are sautéed until soft, translucent, and just starting to brown. 

Combine the warm carrots and onions with the remaining oil, the vinegar, and half of the fresh parsley. 

Cool the salad down, wrap the bowl in plastic wrap, and refrigerate it until completely chilled. 

The result is a salad that’s almost addictive to eat. Here the onions are savory but enhance the natural sweetness of the carrots. Both the vinegar and herbs provide a nice and refreshing kick to the salad, balancing everything out in one perfect bite. 

It’s a great companion to fried cutlets, savory mashed potatoes, or a heavy pot of stew. German Carrot Salad’s cool and well-balanced flavors complete any meal in the best possible way!

Yield(s): Serves about 4

15m prep time

20m cook time

2h inactive

5.0
Rated by 1 reviewers
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Ingredients
  • 2 pounds carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 1 tablespoon vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, roughly chopped
  • Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Preparation
  1. In a medium pot bring a pot of water to boil, liberally season with salt and cook the carrots until slightly softened, about 7 to 8 minutes. Drain and set aside in a clean bowl.
  2. In a nonstick skillet, heat up 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sauté the chopped up onion until translucent and softened, about 8 to 10 minutes.
  3. Add sautéed onion to the bowl with the still warm carrots. Add in the remaining olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper.
  4. Once tossed, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours. Before serving garnish with parsley, serve, and enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Recipes From Europe.