Easy ABC Salad (Apple Beet Carrot)
Viral grated apple, beet, and carrot salad with toasted pepitas, cilantro, and lemon-cumin dressing. Jain-friendly with no onion or garlic.
Ingredients
For the salad
- 1 large crisp apple about 1 1/2 cups grated; Honeycrisp, Fuji, or Granny Smith
- 1 medium raw beet about 1 1/2 cups grated; scrubbed and peeled if tough
- 2 medium carrots about 1 1/2 cups grated
- 3 tablespoons pumpkin seeds pepitas, toasted
- 1/4 cup cilantro torn
- 2 tablespoons feta or paneer crumbled or cubed, optional
For the dressing
- 3-4 tablespoons lemon cumin dressing or 2 tablespoons lemon juice + 2 tablespoons oil + 1/2 teaspoon roasted cumin
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice to coat the grated apple
- salt pinch, to taste
- black pepper to taste
- chaat masala optional light dusting; check label for onion or garlic
- 2 tablespoons plain yogurt optional, thinned with lemon for drizzle
Instructions
Grate the vegetables
- Wash and peel the carrots. Coarse-grate into a large stainless or glass bowl.
- Scrub and peel the beet, then grate it into the same bowl. Blot with a clean towel if the shreds look wet.
Grate the apple last
- Grate the apple last so it does not brown. Add to the bowl and toss immediately with 1 teaspoon lemon juice.
Toast the seeds
- In a dry skillet over medium heat, toast the pepitas 2 to 3 minutes, stirring, until fragrant and a few start to pop. Tip onto a plate to cool.
Dress and serve
- Shake or whisk the lemon-cumin dressing. Pour most of it over the apple, beet, and carrot shreds.
- Toss until glossy and lightly coated, not swimming. Taste and adjust lemon or salt.
- Fold in most of the cilantro and most of the toasted seeds. Finish with the remaining herbs and seeds, plus optional yogurt drizzle or cheese. Serve cool.
Notes
Aim for roughly equal volumes of apple, beet, and carrot so it tastes like true ABC salad.
Grate the apple last and toss with lemon right away to slow browning.
Dress lightly or the salad weeps from beet juice and oil.
Vegan as written without cheese or yogurt.
Best the hour you dress it; undressed beet and carrot shreds keep covered in the fridge up to 1 day.
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