Quick & Easy Koreiskaya Morkovka Russian Carrot Salad Recipe

Bursting with color and flavor, this simple Russian carrot salad features a heavenly combination of sweet and spicy seasonings. 

I’m not normally a fan of carrot salads. They often comprise grated carrots with fruits and honey. I adore honey on cooked carrots, but raw carrots… it doesn’t excite my palate. I also find a lot of them to be mushy because the carrots are partially cooked. In this recipe, the carrots are just shy of raw as they are only heated briefly with warm oil.

I discovered this recipe at the Russian Supper they host at a local church a couple of times a year. I’ve always been a big fan of this salad, but I had a special treat this year when I knew a guy who knew a guy and I got a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the food preparation. This is a large event and it was so neat to see them preparing vats of koreiskaya morkovka and plov (a one-pot chicken and rice recipe).

Carrot Salad Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 lbs Carrots
• 1 lb Onions
• 3-4 cloves Garlic
• 1 c. Oil (olive, avocado, sunflower, etc.)
• 1 tbsp. Sugar
• 1 ½ tsp. Coriander (ground)
• 1 ½ tsp. Paprika
• ¼ tsp. Cayenne Pepper
• Salt & Pepper (to taste)
• Fresh Herbs (for garnish – parsley, cilantro)

Ingredients

Grate the carrots on a fine julienne box grater or mandolin grater. You can use shredded carrots if you prefer, but the julienne cut holds its bite better. Chop the onions course. I use white onions, but red onion works just as well.

Heat the oil in a large skillet. I usually use olive oil. Add the onions. Season with salt to taste. Cook on medium-low heat for 7-10 minutes, until the onions are golden brown.

In a large bowl, season the carrots with salt and ground black pepper to taste. Add the sugar, ground coriander, paprika, and cayenne pepper and mix to combine. Feel free to play around with the seasoning ratios to achieve a flavor you like.

Finely mince the garlic cloves and place them in the bottom of a large bowl. When the onions are cooked, strain the onions through a fine mesh sieve, pouring the hot oil right over the garlic. Add the garlic along with the oil to the carrot mixture, mixing all the ingredients to combine. The cooked onions will not be used in the salad. Add them to other recipes.

Store the carrot salad in the refrigerator. You can serve this delicious side dish right away, but for the best results, marinate the salad in the refrigerator at least for a few hours or overnight before serving. Mix to combine again before serving the salad. Garnish with fresh herbs.

Store the salad in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Why is raw carrot salad good for you?

Many people have problems with bacteria and fungus (candida) overgrowth in the intestine, resulting in intestinal inflammation, which can cause symptoms like irritable bowel syndrome with constipation and or diarrhea. According to Dr. Ray Peat, it is very important that your daily diet contains fibers that can suppress the overgrowth of bad bacteria and funguses. Raw carrots are extremely good at cleaning the intestine because they contain fibers with anti-microbial properties.

What goes well with carrot salad?

Plov (as mentioned above) is a Russian staple that is incredibly easy to make at home. This one-pot plov recipe tastes like the Uzbek version in only a fraction of the time!

Piroshki (Russian hand pies) contains a simple beef and rice filling, but you can fill yours with whatever your heart desires. Here’s a recipe to get you started.

Borscht is a beet soup jam-packed with potatoes, cabbage, carrots, celery, tomato, and sometimes meat served with a dollop of sour cream and dill. You can pair borscht with your carrot salad and know you’ve gotten plenty of vegetables into your day. Natasha’s Kitchen has a classic Russian recipe.

Kotleti is basically a burger without a bun or an oversized meatball. You can learn how to make them here.

Can you freeze carrot salad?

Yes, you can freeze this salad, however, the carrots will lose their texture and quality because the hot oil isn’t enough to blanch them. Blanching is the process of cooking food for a short time in boiling water followed by plunging the food immediately into ice water to stop the cooking. This process helps to preserve the quality, texture, color, and nutrition of vegetables.