There are any number of ways to make a big bowl of juicy grated carrots into a brilliant salad simply by adjusting the combination of oil and vinegar or lemon juice-based dressings, or by adding in chopped herbs, a few salted peanuts or seeds such as poppy and sesame. These are a few of my favourites.

Carrot and peanut salad

Grate or run 5 carrots through a food processor with the grating blade fixed. Tip them out into a mixing bowl. Add about 75g salted peanuts. Stir in a dressing of two tablespoons of red wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons of groundnut oil, a few drops of toasted sesame oil. Mix thoroughly. Transfer to a serving dish.

Indian carrot salad

Grate or run 5 carrots through a food processor with the grating blade fixed and season them with a little salt. Tip them into a mixing bowl. Heat 2 tablespoons of groundnut or rapeseed oil in a small pan. When it’s hot, add in a tablespoon of brown mustard seeds and wait for them to pop (this will only take seconds), pour the seeds and oil over the carrots. Add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and mix well. Transfer to a serving dish. Leave it to infuse for about half an hour before serving.

Carrot and herb salad

Grate or run 5 carrots through a food processor with the grating blade fixed. Tip them into a mixing bowl. Stir through a dressing of 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of well-flavoured olive oil, a pinch of salt and a generous handful of finely chopped fresh herbs – I like mint and parsley. Transfer to a serving dish.  Leave it to infuse for about half an hour before serving.

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