Carrot Almond Salad

Total Time: 20 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup cilantro
• 1 medium garlic clove, peeled
• 1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and de-veined
• 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 8 ounces baby carrots, scrubbed and sliced in half lengthwise
• 16 ounces asparagus, stalks trimmed, cut into 2-inch segments
• squeeze lemon (optional)

Recipe

• 1 bring a large pot of water to a boil. in the meantime, toast the almonds in a large skillet over medium heat in a splash of olive oil along with a big pinch of salt. let them get deeply golden, remove from heat, and set aside.
• 2 make the dressing by combining the cilantro, garlic, jalapeno, and salt in a food processor - or alternately, in a blender or with a hand blender.
• 3 drizzle the olive oil in while pulsing, continuing until the dressing is a creamy, vibrant green. taste, and adjust to your liking with more salt, garlic, jalapeno, etc.
• 4 salt the boiling water generously, then add the carrots, wait 15 seconds and add the asparagus.
• 5 depending on the actual thickness of your carrots/asparagus, cook for about 30 - 60 more seconds, you want the vegetables to retain some structure and bite. drain and immediately run under cold water to stop the cooking. spin dry in a salad spinner.
• 6 in a large bowl toss the vegetables with a generous splash of the dressing. toss well, add 2/3 of the toasted almonds and gently toss again. taste and adjust for seasoning.
• 7 you might want to add a quick squeeze of lemon juice at this point, but it's optional. serve family-style topped with the remaining almonds.