Nigella's Carrot & Peanut Salad

This would be a very easy and popular salad contribution to a party or pot luck, if you could overcome the desire to eat the whole bowl yourself. Nigella, in her fab book Forever Summer, says this serves 1-2 "depending on your compulsiveness or genrosity". I'm inclined to agree that if you plan to share, you should make a huge batch of this. The recipe is so incredibly simply but rewards with a novel, fabulous combination of taste and texture. However, keep the ingredients separate and mix them together only as needed to serve. Otherwise, the peanuts lose some of their bite.

This is my (very early) contribution to Sweetnicks ARF/5-A-Day Tuesday (ARF=Antioxidant Rich Food), as I will be away on a mini-break for the first half of next week with the kidders.

Eating this salad will make you feel instantly more healthy! I mean ...look at it! Carrots, of course, are an awesome source of beta-carotene, which, as we all remember, will give us better night vision. But did you know eating those Vitamin A rich carrots can also help protect you against cardiovascular disease, breast, colon, and lung cancer? And peanuts are a solid source of Vit. E, niacin, folate, and magnesium, as well as resveratrol, the antioxidant present in red wine that is associated with lower cardivascular problems in countries that consume a high fat diet (like France). But frankly, its the strong fresh taste of this salad that will win you (and everyone you know) over! So share the love.... and the health!


I halved the oil and vinegar in Nigella's recipe and was completely satisfied.

Carrot & Peanut Salad (adapted from Forever Summer):

8 small organic carrots, peeled if desired
1/3 cup peanuts
1 tbsp peanut oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp toasted sesame oil

Roughly grate the carrots into a bowl. Add the peanuts, oils, vinegar. Stir and serve immediately.