Simplest Carrot Salad

This nearly-instant recipe is infinitely adaptable: you can substitute lemon juice or vinegar for the lime juice, sugar for the honey, and tamari for the fish sauce, you can omit the peanuts, you can use your favorite green herb (honestly, in the winter I often use celery leaves from the inside of the bunch, because that’s what we have), and you can even add a splash of olive oil if the salad tastes too pickle-y to you.

¾ pound carrots (3 large)

Juice of half a lime plus a few gratings of its peel

A handful of salted, roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped

1 teaspoon honey

½ teaspoon Kosher salt

A handful of fresh mint (or cilantro, parsley, or celery leaves) chopped

Dash of Asian fish sauce or tamari (optional)

Wash or peel the carrots, and then grate them: I do this in my food processor, but you can do it quite easily on the large holes of a box grater. Stir in the remaining ingredients, then taste it: the salad should be tangy, sweet, and salty, and if it’s not, you might want to add more lime, honey, or salt accordingly.