Marinated Carrot Salad with Ginger and Sesame Oil

• Recipe by Laurent Tourondel

Laurent Tourondel grew up in France eating his mother's carrot salad. His Asian take is a little different: The sesame oil, fresh ginger and cilantro add vibrancy to sweet, crunchy carrots.

Ingredients

1. 1 pound carrots, peeled and shredded
2. 1 garlic clove, minced
3. 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
4. 1 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
5. 1/2 cup grapeseed oil
6. Salt and freshly ground pepper
7. 1/3 cup fresh carrot juice
8. 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
9. 1 1/2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil
10. 3/4 teaspoon fresh ginger juice, squeezed from 2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, toss the shredded carrots with the garlic, vinegar, 1/2 cup of the cilantro and 1/4 cup of the grapeseed oil. Season the carrots with salt and pepper. Let the carrots stand for 15 minutes; drain well.
2. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, boil the carrot juice over moderate heat until it is reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Let the reduced carrot juice cool slightly, then transfer to a bowl. Whisk in the mayonnaise, sesame oil, ginger juice and the remaining 1/4 cup of grapeseed oil. Season the carrot dressing generously with salt and pepper.
3. Add the carrot dressing and the remaining 1/2 cup of cilantro to the carrots and toss the salad well. Transfer to a shallow bowl and serve immediately.

Notes

To make ginger juice, puree peeled and chopped fresh ginger in a food processor, then press the puree through a fine sieve.