Chopped Carrot Salad with Fennel, Orange, and Hazelnuts

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Chopped Carrot Salad with Fennel, Orange, and Hazelnuts

Finely chopping carrots in the food processor, instead of grating them by hand, produced a delicately crunchy, light-textured base for our carrot salad. The food processor broke down the carrots in seconds, and we saved even more time by not peeling the carrots; scrubbing them was sufficient, and the skins contributed a subtle but pleasant bitterness. We added bulk and contrasting flavor to the carrots with lots of chives (chopped by hand to avoid overprocessing them in the food processor), toasted hazelnuts, and chopped fennel. A bright dressing bound it all together.

Servings:

Calories: 354kcal

Author: America's Test Kitchen

Ingredients

¾ cup hazelnuts toasted and skinned
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
salt
pepper
¼ teaspoon orange zest grated
⅓ cup orange juice
1 fennel bulb stalks discarded, bulb halved, cored, and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 pound carrots trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
½ cup fresh chives minced

Instructions

Pulse hazelnuts in a food processor until coarsely chopped, 10 to 12 pulses; transfer to a small bowl.
Whisk oil, vinegar, honey, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, and orange zest and juice in large bowl until combined.
Pulse fennel in now-empty processor until coarsely chopped, 10 to 12 pulses; transfer to bowl with dressing.
Process carrots in again-empty processor until finely chopped, 10 to 20 seconds, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Transfer carrots to bowl with fennel mixture. Add ¼ cup chives and half of the hazelnuts and toss to combine.
Season with salt to taste.
Transfer to a serving platter, sprinkle with remaining ¼ cup chives and remaining hazelnuts, and serve.

Notes

We prefer the convenience and the hint of bitterness that leaving the carrots unpeeled lends to this salad; just be sure to scrub the carrots well before using them.

Nutrition