Carrot Salad with Mayonnaise and Garlic

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   Prepare all the ingredients. It's best to use fresh, new-crop carrots. I also recommend against pre-washed carrots - they're treated with a special coating, and washed carrots store poorly and lose their firmness very quickly. For the mayonnaise, homemade is best. There's nothing good in store-bought mayonnaise, and plenty of unhealthy additives.

2. Step 2:

   

   Wash the dirt off the carrots, trim the ends, and peel them. Peel thinly - a vegetable peeler is best for this.

3. Step 3:

   

   Pat the carrots dry with paper towels and grate them. Use a fine grater, a medium one, or a julienne grater for Korean-style carrots - go by your own preference.

4. Step 4:

   

   Salt the carrots. After about 5 minutes they'll release their juice - whatever you do, don't pour it out. That juice is the key to a juicy salad.

5. Step 5:

   

   Peel the garlic, mince it, and add it to the carrots. I put the clove through a press, but you can chop it with a knife or grate it on a fine grater. Of course, fresh young garlic is what makes the salad so good, but if you don't have any, garlic powder works too. At this point you can add anything you like: fresh parsley, dill, cilantro, dried herbes de Provence, or just ground pepper.

6. Step 6:

   

   Add the mayonnaise. I know not everyone eats mayonnaise, so you can use sour cream of any fat content instead. For an even healthier, lighter version, dress the salad with plain yogurt or even kefir or ryazhenka (fermented baked milk).

7. Step 7:

   

   Mix everything together and transfer to a salad bowl.

8. Step 8:

   

   This salad is hearty and fragrant - everyone will love it! Enjoy!