Beetroot and carrot coleslaw

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Monica uses some gorgeous raw vegetables to create a deliciously healthy beetroot and carrot coleslaw, proving beyond doubt that raw food need not be dull.

I’m on a bit of a raw food kick lately. Of course when it comes to raw food, it’s all about the quality of the ingredients, which should ideally be organic and locally sourced to maximise their flavour potential.

Most of us usually cook beetroot, either boiled or roasted, and don’t often brave the gory mess that comes with handling raw beetroot. But really, folks, the mess isn’t that bad and the result is fantastic. Just wear an apron and go to it!

My favourite way to enjoy raw beetroot is shredded in combination with carrots and dressed with something sweet and tangy. Here I use raisins for the sweetness and lemon and white wine vinegar for the tang. Feel free to experiment with other dried fruits like dates, apricots or prunes. Same goes for the nuts: I use pine nuts but pistachios would be fantastic here, as would some toasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds.

This recipe would be a nice side dish to grilled mackerel. I could even see it piled high on a burger or stuffed into a sandwich. I enjoyed mine pretty simply with a couple of boiled eggs.

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Method

1
Combine the raisins, vinegar and garlic in a bowl and leave to sit for about an hour
2
Peel the carrots and beetroot and grate them with a box grater or a julienne slicer (a julienne slicer looks prettier)
3
Combine the raisins, vinegar and garlic with the carrots and beetroot, then toss with the olive oil, lemon juice, most of the parsley and mint, salt and pepper
4
Serve the coleslaw scattered with pine nuts and sprinkled with the extra herbs

Monica Shaw's mission is to enable people to feel awesome, through food, life, work and play.

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