Shaved Vegetable Salad

A delightfully crunchy and colorful shaved vegetable salad made with Chioggia beets, rainbow carrots and fennel dressed with a zesty vinaigrette and topped with crunchy pistachios. A show stopping salad that’s perfect for picnics, barbecues or your next dinner party!

Sometimes when you find the most beautiful produce, the best approach is to not cook it at all! This raw vegetable salad is vibrant, fresh and the perfect way to enjoy your farmers market finds.

This shaved vegetable salad looks super fancy but it’s a very easy recipe. Made with colorful root vegetables, it’s just as much a party for your eyes as it is for your mouth. Shaving the vegetables into super thin slices creates a delicately crunchy texture that’s enjoyable to eat and really delicious.

To be fair, it’s a bit fussy to shave all of the veggies, but it’s so worth it and you will be so happy that you did. This is So dust off that mandolin slicer, grab your vegetable peeler and let’s get to shaving!

Ingredients

• Beets – I love to use Chioggia or candy stripe beets for this salad. They have an especially mild and sweet flavor that’s less earthy than other varieties of beet. When you cut open a candy stripe beet, you’ll see vibrant pink and white rings that are just stunning! They also do not bleed like red beets so you can preserve the gorgeous colors of your vegetables in a raw beet salad. If you can’t find Chioggia or candy cane beets at the farmer’s market, go for white or golden beets.
• Rainbow Carrots – they add so much color! Rainbow carrots are easily found at most grocery stores and farmers markets. Yellow carrots would be the next best thing.
• Fennel – adds a sweet and delicate (but not overpowering) licorice flavor that pairs perfectly with raw beets and carrots. Garnish with fennel fronds.
• Pistachios – adds wonderful texture and flavor.
• Olive oil – use really good olive oil. The Furies is my favorite.
• Red wine vinegar – white wine vinegar or lemon juice will also work.
• Dijon mustard
• Honey – maple syrup works too.
• Salt and pepper

Variations

• Add another root vegetable like shaved radish or parsnip.
• Swap out fennel for shaved apple.
• Use toasted walnuts, pecans or pepitas instead of pistachios.
• Add blue cheese, goat cheese or ricotta salata.
• Sprinkle on some fresh herbs like mint, basil or chives.

Method

Shave beets with mandolin slicer

Use a sharp knife to remove the beet greens and the beet roots. With a vegetable peeler, carefully remove the beet skins. Use a mandolin on the thinnest setting to carefully slice beets into paper thin shavings.

Make carrot ribbons with a vegetable peeler

If the greens are still attached, remove the greens. Holding the carrot at the top, use a vegetable peeler to shave carrot ribbons from the top to the bottom.

Shave or thinly slice fennel

Trim off the fennel stems and set aside. Cut the bulb in half or quarters and remove the core. If any of the outer parts feel rubbery, remove those as well. Fennel is hard to shave with a vegetable peeler, so I opt to use a sharp knife to carefully slice it into super thin shreds.

Make the vinaigrette

In a small mason jar, add olive oil, vinegar, mustard, honey, salt and pepper. Shake vigorously until combined.

Assemble

Add the shaved vegetables to a large bowl. Use tongs to toss with vinaigrette. Add the shaved vegetable salad to a serving platter and top with chopped pistachios and garnish with fennel fronds.

Tips for success

• Have a little patience. Shaving veggies is a bit of a tedious task but so worth the effort!
• Save a step and make the vinaigrette in advance. It will keep well in the fridge for 4-5 days.
• This salad tastes best when prepared fresh. It will store well in an airtight container in the fridge for a few hours if you’re preparing for a dinner party. To serve, let it come to room temp, plate and then garnish with pistachios and fennel fronts.

More farmer’s market inspired recipes you will love

• Golden Beet and Arugula Salad
• Roasted Purple Cauliflower with Crispy Chickpeas and Lemon Herb Tahini
• Stone Fruit Salad with Honey, Lemon and Thyme
• Japanese Eggplant and Oyster Mushroom Stir Fry
• Grilled Corn and Zucchini Salad
• Farmer’s Market Green Pasta

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