healthy carrot salad sandwich (carottes râpées)

light, fun and colorful — the perfect veggie sandwich for summer.

the perfect sandwich to take on the go with you as the crispiness of the carrots prevents the bread from getting too soggy or going flat. you get your potassium and vitamin A from the carrots, protein from the egg, and fiber from the whole grain bread. arrange all the ingredients neatly and you get a beautiful beginning to a rainbow when you slice through!

carrot salad (carottes râpées)

this dish takes an Asian spin on the classic French salad, carottes râpées. it draws inspiration from both the original French version and the re-imagined Korean version that has become popular over recent years. fresh carrot, pickled with a sesame-soy dressing, it’s quick and keeps well in the fridge, making it perfect for meal-prep.

the carrots can be either peeled in long ribbons, or julienned into thin pieces. after cutting, make sure to marinate the carrots in salt to remove moisture!

tip: you can use pre-shredded carrots from the refrigerated produce section of your grocery store to save prep time.

dressing substitutions & variations:

this version of the dressing is made with 4 main components: soy sauce, mirin, rice vinegar, and sesame oil.

if you are making the salad on its own, then you can add dijon or whole grain mustard to the mix. since we are spreading it on our sandwich, you can skip this step. here are some other options to making the dressing:

• mirin = sugar – if you don’t have mirin in your cabinet, sugar makes an excellent replacement. substitute it 1:1
• vinegar – while i recommend rice vinegar to maintain the Asian flavor profile, any vinegar will work. white wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, and white balsamic vinegar are all great substitutes.the flavor will be slightly different of course, but it’s all about using what you already have on hand!
• sesame oil = olive oil – similar to vinegar, the flavor may differ slightly, but these can be subbed 1:1 as well

what to do with leftovers

when making this recipe, i had quite a bit of carrot salad left over. it’s light and crunchy, quite adaptable. it’s not meant to be eaten by itself (though if that’s your thing, i’m not going to knock you for it!). instead it makes an excellent side dish or ingredient to your main meal. here’s some of my favorite ways to use it up!

• rice bowls
• kimbap
• banh mi topping
• serve with potatoes (mashed, smashed, roasted, etc.)
• serve with chicken, steak, or pork chops

how-to:

prep work — wash and peel your carrot. continue using the peeler to cut thin ribbons until the carrot runs out. another option is to julienne the carrot in matchstick pieces. transfer the carrot to a large bowl and sprinkle on a teaspoon of salt. mix and put to the side for 10 minutes to remove moisture. whisk together the dressing (1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp mirin, 1/2 tbps rice vinegar, 1/2 tbsp sesame oil, 1/2 tbsp lemon juice). pat the carrots dry and return to the bowl with the dressing. mix thoroughly. let marinate for 30 minutes (up to an hour). in the meantime, heat a pan on the stove and fry the eggs. wash and pat dry the lettuce.

assembly — lightly toast the bread. spread whole grain mustard on one side of 2 pieces. spread mayonnaise on the other 2 pieces. assemble sandwiches in the following order: mustard toast, lettuce, fried egg, carrot salad, mayonnaise toast. tightly wrap the sandwiches in a sandwich wrap. slice in half and enjoy!

storage — with any remainder carrot salad, mix with 1/2 tbsp of dijon or whole grain mustard and a teaspoon of sesame seeds. this can be stored in the fridge in an air-tight container up to a week.

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