Roasted Carrot Noodle Salad with Honey Thyme Vinaigrette

Yum

It's definitely spring here and I want to bring to you several great spring recipes I've made lately.  The trees are budding, flowers are blooming, and birds are singing.  A family of blue jays have taken up residence in my backyard and we enjoy watching them flit around in the morning when we eat breakfast out on the patio.

However, as I type this it's raining again! What is up with this weather? Usually it is hot and we are swimming by March/April, but not this year.  An extra long winter has made me crave some healthy Spring food loaded with fresh veggies and fruits.

ROASTED CARROT NOODLE SALAD WITH HONEY THYME VINAIGRETTE

First up is a wonder salad.  Carrots are in season right now and what is better than sweet tender carrots?  How about roasted, sweet tender carrots!  In a salad no less. So that's what we are going to make.

This salad uses a spiralizer to make rings of carrots.  It's very hard to find gigantic carrots that will create noodles.  They have to be about 2-3 inches wide and those are rare.  So the rings made from smaller carrots are just fine.  Don't have a spiralizer?  Use a peeler to make long fine strips and you'll be fine.  

What gives this salad it's edge is that we roast the carrots.  Toss them with some olive oil and honey, adding a little thyme to give them extra flavor and they come out sweet and completely tender. They are the star of the salad!

Wonderfully sweet and tender roasted carrots sit atop a bed of arugula, mixed with thin sliced Easter egg radishes, and doused with a honey thyme vinaigrette.  Doesn't that just sound amazing?  Well it is.  And don't skip the dressing.  It is the BOMB!  It totally makes the salad.  I wouldn't think of eating it without this dressing, it's that good.

We had this for Easter along side our ham, and some roasted chicken.  It was so wonderful that I've made it twice since!  This would be the perfect salad to eat all Spring and Summer long.

Enjoy!

Roasted Carrot Noodle Salad with Honey Thyme Vinaigrette

1½ - 2 lbs Carrots peeled & spiralized (about 8 large carrots)

3-4 Radishes assorted colors – thinly sliced

4 cups Arugula

1/3 cup Slivered Almonds 

Dressing:

1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil plus more for carrots

2 tbls White Wine Vinegar

2 tbls Honey plus more for carrots

1 tbls Thyme Leaves plus more for carrots – roughly chopped

Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil for easy clean up. 

Place carrot noodles on the baking sheet and toss with 1 ½ tablespoons of oil and 1 teaspoon of honey.  Add 2-3 sprigs of thyme among the carrots.   Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the carrots are tender. 

Meanwhile, make the dressing.  In a small jar add oil, vinegar, honey, thyme, and a pinch of salt and pepper.  Shake to emulsify. 

Place arugula on a large platter.  Top with roasted carrots and sliced radishes.  Drizzle about 2-3 tablespoon of the dressing over the salad.  Sprinkle with almonds.

Serve at room temperature.  

adapted from: Spring Roasted Carrot Noodle Salad with Thyme Vinaigrette