Carrot Ginger Salad Dressing

As part of Operation July (a.k.a. feel good about my body 6 months after birth), I am on a vegetable-based lunch mission. It has taken a bit of discipline to have enough creative and quick to make options on hand, but I'm getting better at it.

I'm washing and bagging my own lettuce mix (radicchio, endive and red leaf), storing chopped vegetables to easily scoop on salads, hard-boiling a dozen eggs on the weekend, and always making sure I have ripe avocado and good steaming vegetables on hand.

The real breakthrough has come by stocking up on homemade dressing. Prep on Sunday is leading to saved time mid-week AND a good variety making the vegetable lunch mission sustainable. Sesame vinaigrette, shallot lime... and today's flavor, Carrot Ginger.

As you know from this post, I'm a Japanese food fanatic. The winter CSA is carrot and garlic heavy, so the timing is perfect for my take on the staple Japanese dressing. I've made a lot of carrot ginger dressings, (this, that and the other one) and now have my personal perfect recipe down. The key is 10 minutes of extra work, boiling the carrots to soften them. It makes all the difference. Enjoy!

Carrot and Ginger Salad Dressing 
Ingredients

• Juice of 1 lemon
• Juice of 1 orange
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1.5 inches of fresh ginger, peeled*
• 1.5 tablespoons tahini
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 3-4 medium to large carrots 
• 1/3 cup reserve cooking water

Directions

• Clean the carrots, roughly chop them, place them in a small pot and cover with water
• Bring to a boil and cook over medium low heat for 10 minutes
• Drain, reserving 1/3 cup of cooking water
• Add all the ingredients to a food processor, and blend until smooth

*Love this trick: The easiest way to peel ginger is with a teaspoon.... the skin slides off!

The latest batch of dressings, Carrot Ginger on top!