Turkish carrot salad with yogurt
Prep Time: 10 minutes (excluding draining
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Keywords: saute appetizer salad gluten-free nut-free soy-free sugar-free vegetarian carrots yogurt Turkish
Ingredients (Serves 4)
- 12 oz. / 3/4 lb / 340 g fresh carrots, possibly organic
- 1 tablespoon / 15 ml olive oil
- 6 or 8 oz. / 170 or 225 g plain Greek yogurt (the richer the yogurt, the richer the salad: choose what you prefer in the range from whole milk to non-fat yogurt; see Note 1 below)
- 1-2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced if cooking it, minced if using raw
- Fine sea salt, to taste
Instructions
Note 1: if you use regular plain yogurt, drain it first by pouring it into a cloth-lined colander set on a bowl (to catch the whey). Let it sit for 20 minutes or so, then add it to the carrots. (The whey can be used to make bread or in a soup.) Weigh the yogurt after draining.
Note 2: the salad we ate in Turkey did not include dill, while the recipe I consulted does. I used the last dill from my garden (1/2 tablespoon) the first time I made the salad. The following times, I made it without. Try it both ways and decide which one you prefer.
Scrub carrots well and scrape surface to remove a thin layer of skin. Grate carrots using the extra-coarse side of a hand grater.
Heat oil in a skillet. (Alternatively, if you have an oil mister, coat well the bottom of the skillet.) If you prefer a mellower garlic flavor, add it now and stir. After 1 minute, add the grated carrots and stir well to coat. Sauté, while stirring, until tender. If the carrots get dry while they are still on the crunchy side, cover the skillet and continue cooking on gentle heat for a few minutes.
Empty skillet in a bowl, season carrots with a bit of salt and toss. Add dill, if using, and, if applicable, minced garlic.
Between carrots and yogurt, I like to tip the balance towards carrots, while my husband favors more traditional proportions. So, for a more traditional version, spoon 8 oz. of yogurt on the carrots and toss well. For my household's version, spoon 4 oz. / 113 g of yogurt and toss well, then divide the salad into two bowls and spoon 2 oz. / 56 g of yogurt on one portion and toss well.
