I first tasted the cabbage and carrot salad at Ourania’s Tavern, on Samos island, and was fascinated. Ourania, the owner and cook, told us that the longer you leave the salad in the fridge, the better it gets;  she was right, of course.

Adding fruity olive oil and maybe 1-2 teaspoons Dijon mustard her ‘marinade’ becomes my go-to vinaigrette for all kinds of seasonal, mixed salads. 

4 to 6 servings

4 – 5 cups finely shredded green cabbage (about 1/2 a medium cabbage) 

3 medium carrots, peeled, and shredded  

1/4 cup fresh orange juice 

1/4 cup white ‘balsamic’ vinegar 

About 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon or more ground black pepper

3–4 small dill pickles (about 2 inches long), halved lengthwise and thinly sliced  (optional)

1/2 cup halved, and seeded red bell pepper, finely cut into thin strips

A small handful of fresh mint leaves

Fruity olive oil 

In a large bowl, combine the cabbage and carrots with the orange juice and vinegar, the salt and pepper. Rub, squeeze and toss the cabbage mixture with your hands until reduced in volume by about a half. 

(The salad can be prepared up to this point a few hours in advance, or even a few days, then covered and refrigerated.)

In the serving bowl, combine the cabbage, pickles, if you are using them, with the red pepper, and some coarsely shredded mint leaves. 

Drizzle liberally with fruity olive oil and taste to adjust the seasonings, adding more salt, pepper, vinegar or orange juice, if needed. Garnish with mint leaves and serve.

VARIATION:

For a colorful, mixed salad use all or some of the following: any lettuce (romaine, frisée, iceberg), purslane (if available), maybe some diced cucumber, small tomatoes, chopped olives (green or black), along with sliced orange, and shredded radicchio for the bitterness we so much love, plus fragrant mint.

Dress it with the above described orange juice and vinegar, adding maybe 1-2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, salt and pepper, of course, and plenty of fruity olive oil!

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I liked the idea of adding warm spices, but increased the number of other fruits –oranges, apples, and particularly lemons—which beautifully complement the carrots’ one-dimensional sweetness. Also, I didn’t over-process the fruit to get a very smooth jam, as the recipe suggests.

My carrot jam is somewhat tart, much closer to my most favorite citrus-fruit marmalades. But you can add more honey or sugar to make it sweeter, as most people probably would prefer it…

Serve with creamy, thick yogurt, with fresh cheese –like myzithra or ricotta– or with the very creamy manouri cheese. I also like to spread it on slices of my Orange, Lemon or Tangerine Olive-oil Cake. 

At Molly’s Rise and Shine in New Orleans their very smooth carrot jam is served with granola and yogurt, topped with orange segments and blackberries.

PHOTO from the restaurant’s FaceBook page.

Makes about 2.2 quarts (liters)

2 pounds carrots (1 kilo) cut into 2.5-inch pieces, then each piece halved lengthwise; depending on the carrot’s thickness, each carrot half cut lengthwise into 2-3 sticks

2 medium-size Granny Smith apples (about 2/3 pound, 350 grams), cored, and cut into long chunks

3 oranges halved, pitted, and cut into thin slices

4 lemons halved, pitted, and  cut into thin slices

2 cups orange juice

1 cup water or more, as needed

1 cup granulated sugar, or more as needed (to taste) 

Pinch of salt

SPICES –tied in a piece of cheesecloth

5 cardamom pods, lightly smashed

4 whole star anise

2 cinnamon sticks

½ cup honey or more, as needed

1/4 cup lemon juice

Full fat, thick yogurt, myzithra (ricotta-like cheese), or creamy manouri for serving (optional)

In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan place the carrots, apples, oranges, lemons and add the sugar, the orange juice, and the water, as well as the spices in the cheesecloth, and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high, stirring occasionally.

Cover with a piece of parchment paper and a lid, lower the heat to medium-low and cook; cook, stirring occasionally, until carrots are crisp-tender, about 40 minutes. Uncover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the carrots are very tender, and the liquid has reduced to a thin, syrupy consistency, 10-15 minutes.

Remove from the heat and transfer the carrot mixture to a food processor or blender. Mash to get a somewhat coarse mixture. Alternatively, you can mash the carrot and fruit in the pot with a stick blender.

 Transfer the mashed carrots etc. back to the pot, add the honey and lemon, and cook another 10 minutes, stirring often. Taste and add more honey or sugar if you want –I prefer this jam on the sour side, as all my marmalades.  

Discard the spices and transfer the jam to clean, warm jars. Fill almost to the top, close the lids, and let the jars cool and seal. Keep in a cool place or in the refrigerator. As this jam has little sugar it may spoil sooner than most other fruit preserves and jams.  

If you like, spoon yogurt into bowls, and top with dollops of spicy carrot jam.

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As I was writing this, I remembered another carrot salad, that one a classic from North Africa: The Tunisian Carrot Salad is also laced with lots of lemon juice, and unexpectedly scented with caraway seeds. Dietician will tell you that lemon makes you absorb all the wonderful nutrients of carrots; but this is an added bonus to the really brilliant combination of sweet and sour, that we, in the Mediterranean, adore!

Note the beautiful stoneware ceramic bowl my dear friend Hara Bahariou has created. I am so happy to have many of her exquisite creations in which I serve my dishes; makes such difference at the table!

Serves 4-6

1 ½ pounds carrots (about 6-7) peeled and very thinly sliced, preferably in the mandolin –very carefully!

1 small thick-skinned lemon, most outer peel removed with potato-peeler, then halved, seeded, and thinly sliced

About 4 tablespoons lemon juice, and maybe more for the dressing

½-1 teaspoon salt, to taste

1 teaspoon coarsely ground fennel seeds (in a mortar)

1 medium-small finocchio, outer leaves removed (frozen for soups and broths) thinly sliced

2 cups coarsely shredded iceberg lettuce

2 – 3 cups arugula, preferably baby arugula, coarsely chopped

A handful fresh mint leaves

DRESSING:

The lemon marinade

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard –or more, to taste

2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses

1-2 teaspoons honey, to taste

1/3 cup very fruity olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a glass or stainless-steel bowl that holds them snugly, toss the carrot and lemon slices with salt, lemon juice, and the fennel seeds. Mix well, preferably with your fingers, then cover with plastic wrap and let marinate for at least 1 hour on the counter; if you have time, it is best to let the carrots marinate overnight in the refrigerator.

When ready to serve the salad, drain the carrots and lemon slices, reserving the juice, and transfer to a nice salad bowl, adding the finocchio, iceberg lettuce, arugula, and mint leaves, coarsely torn –reserve a few for garnish.

In a bowl whip the marinade juices with mustard, molasses, 1 teaspoon honey, some pepper, and the olive oil; taste and add more honey, salt and pepper, as needed.

Pour the dressing over the salad and toss well to mix. Decorate with mint leaves and serve.

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