Turkish Carrot Salad
By Lee Jackson ↣ Published on: October 19, 2019
It’s not often carrots get to take centre stage, but this classic Turkish mezze salad/dip elevates the humble vegetable into superstar status. Creamy, sweet and lightly spiced it’s the perfect dish to dip and scoop to your heart’s content.
Traveling through Turkey opened up my eyes (and taste buds) to a brand new world of taste and flavour. I had no idea just how diverse and refined Turkish food was. It is beyond exciting.
Many a night I sat in a restaurant, enjoying a selection of mezze plates like kiz güzeli, muhammara, haydari, babagannuş, humus and more.
One of my favourites was havuç salatası, a Carrot Salad. Often a simple puree mixed with yoghurt, it's primed for scooping up with flatbreads. A wonderfully sweet, tangy and incredibly moreish part of any Turkish mezze feast.
What is Havuç Salatası?
Carrot salad is commonplace on many Turkish dinner tables. It can be served in many ways. Mashed or pureed, roasted or grated and fried, then combined with tangy yoghurt. Carrot salad is often served topped with nuts, olives or herbs.
Invariably when you're in Turkey meze quickly becomes THE main event - and so it should, this salad is a winner and keeper. It's a humble, simple dish that's quick and easy to make at home and it's packed with colour, flavour and nutrition!
Why it works
It's quick and easy - Simply roast a few carrots and then blend until smooth. Scatter liberally with tasty garnishes to elevate this humble salad into superstar status! That's no trouble at all.
It's sweet, tangy and earthy - There's a complex blend of flavour at play here which transforms the humble carrot into something very special indeed.
Stuff you'll need
There's not a lot to our Turkish carrot salad, but each ingredient brings its magic and creates a marvel of flavour.
- Carrots - sweet and colourful - they're the star of the show.
- Cumin - earthy cumin is the perfect partner to carrot, trust me.
- Garlic - we roast the garlic in its skin along with the carrot to mellow its flavour.
- Extra-virgin olive oil - helps create a lux creaminess
- Honey and wine vinegar - sweet and sour, balances the flavour
- Yoghurt - plain yoghurt brings all its creamy wonder to the salad
- Garnishes - I garnish with dill and mint, both of which are a splendid marriage with carrot. I also add a liberal scattering pumpkin, chia and sunflower seeds along with some sweet red onion.
Step by Step
Making this havuç salatası carrot salad is very easy. I like to use an immersion (stick) blender as there's less mess, but feel free to use a regular food processor or blender.
- Step 1 - Wrap the carrots and garlic (in their skin) with foil
- Step 2 - Bake for 30-40 minutes until soft. Cool, then chop the carrots into chunks and squeeze out the creamy garlic from the skins.
- Step 3 - Add everything to a jug or bowl and season with salt & pepper.
- Step 4 - Blend until smooth. That's it!
Garnish suggestions.
I change my garnishes all the time, using whatever I have to top the delicious salad. Here are a few of my favourites.
- Herbs - Use parsley, oregano, tarragon or thyme as an alternative
- Vegetables - My favourite is some finely chopped celery and radish or some halved cherry tomatoes.
- Nuts - I'll often use toasted nuts instead of seeds, like pistachio, walnuts, pecans, almonds or chopped hazelnuts.
- Spices - This salad pairs splendidly with a scattering of za'atar, sumac or Aleppo pepper (pul biber)
- Drizzle - I'll always add a final glug of extra-virgin olive oil to the top of my salad, but you might also consider a thin drizzle of date or pomegranate molasses for sourness, or a few dollops of yoghurt to the top, just before serving.
Serving and storing suggestions
I mostly eat this salad as an appetiser or as part of a larger mezze feast. I ALWAYS serve it with generous amounts of bread, like flatbreads, pita or Turkish bread (ekmek).
- Fridge - The salad is best eaten fresh, but you can make it up to 4 days in advance (without the garnishes). If you're storing leftovers (with garnish), eat after 2 days as the onion can kind of take over the flavour.
- Freezer - Personally, I wouldn't recommend freezing. Fresh is best.
Ready to get cooking?
Now you've seen just how easy this creamy, earth, sweet and healthy little salad is to make yourself, there'll be no stopping you.
Trust me, this salad is one of those dishes that have guests talking for weeks about how tasty the humble carrot can be. Hope you enjoy!
More Turkish & Mediterranean recipes
If you liked my Turkish Carrot Salad recipe, you'll be sure to enjoy more of my favourite recipes.
- Haydari (Turkish Yoghurt Meze)
- Cacik (Turkish Yoghurt & Cucumber)
- Çılbır (Turkish Eggs)
- Greek Strapatsada
- Turkish Mücver (Zucchini Fritters)
- Turkish Beetroot & Yoghurt Dip
- Turkish Bean Salad (Piyaz)
- Turkish Green Beans (Zeytinyağlı Fasulye)
- Sumac Onions
- Yoghurt & Garlic Sauce
- Turkish Salad (Shepherd Salad)
- Baba Ghanoush
- Circassian Chicken
- Cypriot Sheftalia
- Turkish Lime Yoghurt Cake
This recipe is also one of my Best Dips in the Cook Eat World - go find out which others are on the list.
Ingredients
- 3 medium carrots (about 11oz/300g)
- 3 garlic cloves (skin on)
- 2 tbsp Greek yoghurt (plain)
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- Salt & pepper
Garnishes
- 2 tbsp mixed seeds (Chia, sunflower, pumpkin etc).
- 2 tbsp red onion (thinly sliced)
- 2 tbsp mint (chopped)
- 2 tbsp dill (chopped)
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (drizzled)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200ºC.
- Trim the tops and wrap all the carrots and the garlic cloves (in its skin) in foil then bake for 30-40 minutes until soft. Remove and cool.
- Squeeze out the garlic from its skin into a bowl. Cut the carrots into chunks and add to the bowl. Add the yoghurt, vinegar, ground cumin and olive oil and season well with salt & pepper
- Using a stick blender or food processor, blend into a smooth puree. And you're done! Spoon into a bowl and garnish with the herbs, seeds and red onion.
Notes
- Herbs - Use parsley, oregano, tarragon or thyme as an alternative
- Vegetables - My favourite is some finely chopped celery and radish or some halved cherry tomatoes.
- Nuts - I'll often use toasted nuts instead of seeds, like pistachio, walnuts, pecans, almonds or chopped hazelnuts.
- Spices - This salad pairs splendidly with a scattering of za'atar, sumac or Aleppo pepper (pul biber)
- Drizzle - I'll always add a final glug of extra-virgin olive oil to the top of my salad, but you might also consider a thin drizzle of date or pomegranate molasses for sourness, or a few dollops of yoghurt to the top, just before serving.
Nutrition
This recipe uses affiliations and may receive a commission based on your activity (link clicks). Learn more.
Leave A Comment