I can tell you exactly what many vegetable peelers look like: tarnished metal with 14 little grater holes poking out of the V-shaped handle and a blade that couldn’t cut the fuzz off a ripe kiwi. And yet, many home cooks still have them lingering in their utensil drawers ready to peel potatoes for tonight’s supper.
Up until a few years ago, this was the case in my own mother’s kitchen. Whenever I visited, I would wrangle with Mama’s decades-old peeler. I’d cringe while I prepped cucumbers or broccoli, thinking I just might lose a thumb or an eye.
Scalpel-quality vegetable peelers make a home cook’s life so much easier. Like great chef’s knives, they do all the work so you don’t have to labor — and potentially jab yourself — when peeling mangos or butternut squash. Well-made, razor-sharp peelers cost $10 or less at the local kitchen store or online. And they are the key to quickly making salads and other plant-based dishes, including my Carrot Ribbon Salad.
Shaving thin, playful ribbons from a small bunch of carrots creates an unexpected way to enjoy them. They add a bright pop of color to a springtime table, especially for Mother’s Day or graduation. Try to buy them with the green tops attached. Similar to parsley, the tops have a slightly bitter, but fresh flavor, and they finish off this salad — or any other carrot dish — beautifully.
The simple date dressing adds natural sweetness and creaminess to the salad. When tossed together with toasted cumin seeds, the taste of the sweet carrots is amplified.
Christina Peters
Christina Peters
Carrot Ribbon Salad with Date Vinaigrette
Chadwick Boyd is a frequent TV guest, judge on Hallmark Channel and cookbook author. Find more of his work at chadwickboydlifestyle.com.
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