Tri-colored Carrot Salad with Goat Cheese, Mint and Peas Tendrils

photo © Valery Rizzo

I am starting to feel like spring is finally in the air… a time for rebirth and renewal. Seeds will be planted and flowers will bloom and we can start to think about the summer approaching soon after.

 

There are still two more weeks left to see my photograph, “ Rooftop farmer ” in an exhibition at Soho Photo in Tribeca. A photograph from my Brooklyn book project I took at the Eagle Street rooftop farm in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. The exhibition runs from March 1 - April 2, 2011.


On the shoreline of the East River and with a sweeping view of the Manhattan skyline, Eagle Street Rooftop Farm is a 6,000 square foot green roof organic vegetable farm located atop a warehouse rooftop. During New York City’s growing season, the farmers at Eagle Street Rooftop Farm supply a community supported agriculture (CSA) program and bicycle fresh produce to area restaurants. It is a wonderfully amazing place where you can volunteer to work on the farm, attend one of their many farm-based educational programs or just visit and buy some of the produce from their farm stand. They also have chickens, rabbits and beehives. Photographer Nicole Franzen has also taken some really beautiful photographs of the Eagle Street rooftop farm.

The sun and warmer temperatures outside also made me feel like making a light spring salad.  A bunch of purple, yellow and orange carrots and special little pea tendrils I found at the Food Coop inspired me to create the perfect lunch. 

All images © Valery Rizzo

6 carrots, two purple, two yellow, and two orange

4 sprigs of mint

Goat cheese

Extra virgin olive oil

Balsamic vinegar

Pea tendrils

Cracked black pepper

Salt

 A loaf of fresh baked bread

1. With a vegetable peeler, peel all carrots in long strips from bottom to top and from dark to light in color. Be forewarned if your purple carrots are as fresh and juicy as mine were, the purple juices will splatter, so its best to use a large bowl.

2. Break off leaves of mint from your sprigs and break into smaller pieces, then add on top of carrots. Dress the carrots and mint with your extra virgin olive oil and just a touch of balsamic vinegar. Using your pepper mill crack some black pepper on top and add salt to taste.Then toss all ingredients in bowl together.

3. Plate the carrot salad separately. On top of the salad break up pieces of goat cheese, mine was a goat cheese from Spain I found at the Food Coop. Then to finish it off add about 5 or 6 pea tendrils on top and eat with a piece of your favorite loaf of bread. Don't forget to save a piece of bread at the end to soak up all those delicious flavors at the bottom of the plate. This recipe serves two.