In addition to the subliminal messaging of Bugs Bunny’s incessant carrot chomping, many kids have the mantra “carrots are good for your eyesight” drilled into them. Coming from a family where everyone has glasses, as a child I dutifully ate my carrots as often as I could and hoped for the best.

It didn’t save me from contacts, but it did instill a life-long love of crunchy orange vegetables in my taste buds. In fact, since discovering the insanely delicious Sabra brand, I regularly make a light meal out of nothing more than carrots slathered with copious amounts of hummus.

Though not strictly Japanese, the rice vinegar, ginger, and spring onions in the dressing make this salad a great pairing with my favorite homemade Japanese fare. Grating large quantities of carrots is not always the easiest feat, but think of it as a nice way to work up an appetite. Once you have gotten the hang of the grating, this salad is super fast to throw together for yourself or impromptu guests.

Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Serves: 6 (as a side salad)
Adapted from the November 2009 Bon Appetit

Ingredients

• 4 large carrots
• one bunch (5-6) green onions (also called spring onions)
• a two inch long piece of fresh ginger
• rice vinegar
• dried cranberries or cherries (if desired, for garnish)

Method

1. With a peeler, remove the skin from the ginger and peel the carrots.
2. Grate the carrots over a bowl using the largest holes on a pyramid grater.
3. Roughly chop the ginger and white parts (bottoms) of the onions, discard the root and the green portions.
4. In a magic bullet, blender, or food processor, combine the rice vinegar, ginger, and onions. Blend until smooth.
5. Pour the dressing over the carrots and mix thoroughly.
6. Add the dried fruit for garnish, if desired.

Enjoy!