Baby Carrot Salad with Mâché, Yogurt & Thai Chile Vinaigrette
Are you a salad lover? If you don’t mix it up, salads can become a little boring. How about something a little different? This delicious baby carrot salad transforms humble carrots into something extraordinary with a perfect balance of creamy yogurt and spicy Thai chile vinaigrette.
Although there are three parts to this salad, the delicious result is a light and refreshing recipe that can be a stand-alone meal for lunch or a first course for dinner.
What makes this salad special is the Thai chile vinaigrette – a bold dressing that brings just enough heat to complement the natural sweetness of the carrots without overwhelming the mild, nutty flavor of the maché. The cooling yogurt provides a creamy contrast that ties everything together, making each bite a perfect harmony of textures and flavors.
Since it’s ready in just 15 minutes, this salad works equally well as a light lunch, an elegant first course dish, or as a colorful addition to your dinner table.
The tender baby carrots pair beautifully with delicate maché, creating a salad that’s both refreshing and satisfying.
The combination of crisp vegetables, creamy yogurt, and zesty vinaigrette creates a dish that’s both nutritious and indulgent, proof that simple ingredients can create something truly memorable.
Want a pretty salad with a different flavor profile? Get ready to enjoy a unique and delicious salad.
Inspiration for this Baby Carrot Salad
Years ago, I found this interesting salad recipe that combined some delicious ingredients in a different way.
At the time, I was still teaching cooking classes on a regular basis. Since I had many repeat students, I was always on the lookout for new recipes to share. And I wanted recipes that used a variety of ingredients and preparation methods to teach.
I discovered several recipes based on Moveable Feast, the PBS/Fine Cooking Magazine. Fine Cooking was my favorite go-to magazine, and the TV show was so interesting and well-done. I put together a cooking class based on several recipes from the show.
This show, which was in its 4th season, featured Australian chef Pete Evans (who is really cute and has a lovely Aussie accent) traveling the U.S., visiting chefs, artisan farmers, fishermen, and markets for seasonal and local ingredients. Together, they prepared a meal for 20-30 people in a beautiful setting (on the beach, a NYC rooftop, a farm). It was entertaining, educational, and the scenery was fantastic.
NOTE: A Moveable Feast is now in its 10 season on PBS with a new chef/ host.
At the cooking class, everyone in attendance raved about the food. Everything was so good, but I think the favorite went to the Baby Carrot Salad with Mâché, Yogurt and Thai Chile Vinaigrette.
It’s light, easy, and a perfect salad for this time of year. Baby Carrot Salad with Mâché, Yogurt and Thai Chile Vinaigrette is a great weekend salad to pair with a steak, chops, pan-roasted salmon or other meaty fish.
The addition of the mâché, with narrow, tender, dark green leaves and a tangy, nutlike flavor, adds a special touch to the sweetness of the carrots; the vinaigrette has a nice spiciness and fragrance. I love the crunch of the slivered almonds.
Pretty Baby Carrot Salad Recipe
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Baby Carrots
If you can find multi-colored carrots at your gourmet grocer, they add to the attractiveness of the salad, but all orange will work just fine.
Make sure that your carrots are super fresh – no limpness, here. I love to buy carrots with the tops on them, either at our Central Market (only in Texas), Whole Foods or at the farmers’ Market.
Just be sure to wash them really well. They can have a lot of dirt on the leaves.
What is Mâché?
Maché is the French name (anything food and French is sure to be good, right?) of an edible salad green also known as corn salad or lamb’s lettuce (because its leaves are shaped like a lamb’s tongue).
It’s probably one of the most delicate of all salad greens, and unlike some other greens, such as spinach or kale, it’s always served fresh.
It forms a loose and wavy rosette of six to eight leaves from its razor-thin and tender stems. The stems are lemon lime in color, tender and succulent. The leaves are a key lime green in color, which makes for a pretty salad, especially if you combine it with darker-leaved lettuces.
The texture is velvety to the touch with a melting quality. The flavor is memorably sweet, creamy and nutty. And it’s available year-round.
NOTE: If you can’t find maché, a good alternative is Bibb or Boston lettuce. It adds a great contrast to the baby carrot salad. Even our Central Market didn’t have mâché, so I used butter lettuce.
Thai Chile
You could use different chiles in this salad, but the Thai chiles are so pretty and give great heat to the vinaigrette.
These little peppers are about an inch long and very hot. The green ones are not ripe, becoming red as they ripen, but you can eat either one or mix them together for color.
You can sometimes find them at the grocery store, but the Asian markets are your best bet. Sweet Shark likes to buy them green and let them ripen on the kitchen counter. Wash them and let them air dry.
If you buy a bunch, put them in the freezer and freeze them for later use. They seem to last the whole year. Although toward the end of the year, they seem to lose the heat. Otherwise, the peppers are as good as fresh.
You can grow them successfully in the summer since they like heat and sun. If you can’t find them, we have substituted cayenne peppers from our garden.
NOTE: Since we have so many chile peppers growing in our backyard, we used them this time for the salad. You could also use a jalapeño that has turned red.
Orange Blossom Water
Orange flower water is made using orange tree blossoms and a steam distillation process.
The resulting fragrant water has found its way into many culinary uses, especially in eastern Mediterranean cuisines.
- A drizzle of rose or orange blossom water can add extra depth to what you’re already eating, for example, morning yogurt or vanilla ice cream.
- It’s often used in panna cotta, custard, mousse, and rice pudding – anything creamy and milky will take on the flavor of orange blossom water.
- Use orange blossom water to sweeten your tea, top sugar cookies, sprinkle over a bowl of berries, or whatever else you can think of.
You can buy it online, a liqueur store, or a gourmet kitchen store.
In the vinaigrette for the baby carrot salad, the orange blossom water acts to temper the Thai Chile and gives a wonderful aroma to the salad. There are several different brands, but Sweet Shark keeps this one in his bar for cocktails. (Nielsen-Massey also makes my favorite vanilla extract.) I had to borrow it from him.
Ingredients for the Baby Carrot Salad
Most of these ingredients may be in your pantry and are available at your local grocery store or Farmers’ Market.
Prep and Roast the Carrots
FYI: I forgot to take pictures of roasting the carrots. The ones below are stock and borrowed.
Peel the carrots and trim the ends. “Y”-shaped peelers have been my favorites for 25 years.
TIP: You can leave some of the green tops on if you like.
Place the carrots on a half-sheet pan and drizzle with melted butter and kosher salt. Roast at 425˚F. for 10 minutes. Toss the carrots and continue roasting for another 10-15 minutes until tender (Poke the tip of a paring knife in the carrot; it should easily go in the carrot.)
source: Carlsbad Cravings
Making the Vinaigrette
In a medium skillet (I use one of our cast iron skillets for just about everything.), heat the butter until the milk solids turn brown.
TIP: Always start heating butter in a cold skillet.
Add the honey, swirling the pan, and then the almonds. When the mixture bubbles, add the apple cider vinegar and orange blossom water.
Bring to a boil and simmer until thickened, about 2 minutes.
Remove from the heat (or, if you have gas like we do, just turn off the heat) and add the lemon juice and chile.
Then whisk in the extra-virgin olive oil until blended.
Pour the vinaigrette into a small bowl. You can make the vinagirette up to 2 hours ahead and store in the refrigerator.
Making the Yogurt Mint Sauce
In a small bowl, combine the yogurt and chopped mint.
Stir to combine thoroughly.
Set aside or cover and place in the refrigerator until ready to assemble the salad.
Prep the Lettuce
Clean and tear the lettuce into pieces. This can be done ahead and stored in the refrigerator.
Assemble the Salad
Put a nice-sized dollop of the mint sauce on the plate or shallow bowl. I put about 1/4 cup on a salad bowl and flattened it a bit with the back of a spoon.
Place the carrots on the side of the mint yogurt sauce and top with a spoonful of the Thai chili vinaigrette.
Place about 1 cup of lettuce on the other side of the mint sauce and top with more vinaigrette.
NOTE: The recipe calls for thinly sliced radishes as a garnish, but neither Sweet Shark nor I are fond of radishes, so I left them off. They certainly would add more color to the salad.
This salad doesn’t call for pepper at all. We love a few grinds of freshly ground black pepper, so add pepper if you like.
Why We Love This Delicious Salad
- It’s colorful and attractive.
- Roasting the carrots brings out more sweetness and gives them a melting tenderness.
- The mint yogurt sauce adds a creamy texture.
- The Thai chile vinaigrette adds a spicy finish, and the almonds add a nice crunch.
- The vinaigrette, mint-yogurt sauce, and prepping the lettuce can all be done while the carrots are roasting.
- The vinaigrette, mint-yogurt sauce, and the lettuce prep can be made a few hours ahead.
Additions to The Baby Carrot Salad
If you want to make the salad more substantial, add one of these protein suggestions:
- Add 3 or 4 grilled shrimp that have been peeled and deveined with the tails removed.
- Add 4 ounces of grilled fish, such as salmon, tuna, halibut, swordfish, or tilapia.
- Add 4 ounces of grilled boneless, skinless chicken, either thigh or breast meat.
Baby Carrot Salad with Maché, Yogurt and Thai Chile Vinaigrette
Roasted Baby Carrot Salad with Mâché, Yogurt and Thai Chile Vinaigrette
Equipment
- parchment paper or foil
Ingredients
For the Vinaigrette
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons honey
- ½ cup toasted slivered almonds
- 2 tablespoons apple-cider vinegar
- ½ teaspoon oragne-blossom water
- 1 fresh red Thai or other small chile seeds and ribs removed, thinly sliced
- kosher salt to taste
For the Carrots and Salad
- 24 4-to 5-inch-long young carrots leaves removed, peeled and trimmed
- kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- ½ cup plain yogurt (whole or low fat)
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves
- 4 cups loosely packed mâché leaves*
- 3 small radishes trimmed and thinly sliced
Instructions
Roasting the Carrots
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 425˚F.
- Spread the trimmed and peeled carrots on a rimmed half sheet pan lined with foil or parchment paper. Sprinkle with kosher salt and pour the melted butter over the carrots.
- Roast the carrots for 15 minutes. Toss the carrots and continue cooking until tender and browned in places, 10 to 15 more minutes. Remove the carrots from the oven.
- Allow the carrots to cool slightly, then transfer to a medium bowl. Toss with 1/3 cup of the vinaigrette. Season to taste with salt.
Make the Vinaigrette
- Melt the butter in a medium (8-10-inch) skillet over medium heat and cook until the milk solids turn brown, about 3 minutes.
- Add the honey, swirl the pan to incorporate, and then add the almonds.
- When the mixture is bubbling, carefully add the vinegar and orange-blossom water.
- Bring to a boil, then simmer until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the lemon juice and chile, and then whisk in the oil until blended.
- Cool the vinaigrette to room temperature and season to taste with salt. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.
- In a small bowl, mix the yogurt with the chopped mint and 1/2 teaspoon salt until combined. Set aside.
Assembling the Salad
- Divide the yogurt/mint among the plates or shallow bowls. Arrange the carrots to one side of the yogurt and top with more vinaigrette. Add the mâché or other lettuce to the other side of the mint yogurt sauce. Drizzle with the remaining vinaigarette. Top with sliced radishes and serve.
Notes
The vinaigrette and the yogurt/mint mixture can be prepared while the carrots are roasting.
The vinaigrette and the yogurt/mix mixture can be made 2 hours ahead of the salad assembly. The yogurt mixture should be stored in the refrigerator. Whisk the vinaigrette salad before serving.
Enjoy the salad. If you’d like some more salad recipes, try these two favorites.
Now it’s time to save this salad, print the salad, and make it for your next meal or party. It’s especially great for a luncheon when you want to make most of the dish ahead of serving.
Check out my Salad Recipe Pinterest Board for more Ideas.
