This carrot salad might make your happier

Shredded carrot salad with pistachios and herbs + bratwursts (or anything you want)

As always, there’s a printable version of this recipe below.

"I love living communally," my friend, Ben, said as he sipped his half glass of wine from the seat next to me. 

We each snagged some sausages from the heaping platter sitting in the center of the table as we looked over at the four children – all different ages – snuggled up together on the couch in the living room. 

That weekend, a few of us had driven over an hour through some pelting rain so we could hang out with our friend visiting from California who was staying with another friend in New Jersey. 

This friend group had formed organically in New York City about fifteen years ago when we were nearly all partnered up but not yet married. The group started with a couple of longtime pals, grew when others crashed a party and formed instant bonds, and then solidified when people’s partners joined the fold. 

We all work in different industries, but most of us are in creative fields. Somehow, we united around…I don't know. A love of quality time together? An appreciation for nice things?

Our gatherings have always included a lot of good food, but we're never precious about it. There's also a lot of good banter, with everyone bringing some snarky, East Coast, Gen X-style humor to the hang. 

As we've all had babies, we scattered from the city and now live anywhere from 50 to 3,000 miles away from each other. 

Without meaning to, most of us have had one child, so our offspring form a sort of accidental Only Child's Club of honorary cousins. 

The day of the rainy day hangout fell on the same day that the Surgeon General wrote his much-talked-about piece in the New York Times: "We have become a lonely nation. It's time to fix that."

When Ben told me how much he loved living communally, I hadn't yet read that piece.

But I said something to the effect of, "Isn't it funny that society prepared us for this Post World War II ideal of living in single-family homes as nuclear families? Often in neighborhoods with no side walks. And then we’re all stressed out trying to do all the things? I know living with extended family can have its issues. But there's an appeal to living communally with good friends to help share the life load of parenting and cooking."

My husband and I later joked about buying a large compound somewhere and building five small houses with some larger communal spaces so the kids could run free, and we'd share most of our meals. 

Soon after, I read this Atlantic article about how purposefully living near friends can do wonders for our happiness. Perhaps our crazy idea isn't so crazy. But we're not making any big moves yet. (And I’m lucky that I DO have some friends within walking distance.)

So, what does this story have to do with today's recipe? 

Well, the day we drove through the rain, my friend in New Jersey grilled eight different kinds of sausages from a local German butcher and told us to bring something to serve alongside. 

The weather left me with little motivation to go to the store or make anything that required serious effort. So I scanned the fridge and found a trusty bag of carrots. 

In France, you’ll see premade versions of carottes râpées, a shredded carrot salad, at every rest stop and grocery store. It's also a mainstay of the French family table. 

In the US, I’ve mostly seen grated carrot salads at potlucks, often made with raisins. For most people I know, it’s not an everyday kind of salad. But you know what? It should be! (Without raisins, that is. At least for me.)

Here's why: Shredded carrot salads are wildly versatile: You can make them with different dressings, spices, herbs, and add-ins. 

You can serve them as a side dish alongside meat (like I do here) or toss them with grains or chickpeas for a plant-based meal. 

You can make them extra vinegary to use as more of a condiment on a sandwich or taco. 

The salad is bright and energizing when served cold, like a tangy coleslaw. But briefly cooked, it tastes even sweetener, more grounding, and comforting.

It's a dish you could quickly scale up to serve 20 or make on a Sunday to enjoy on your own throughout the week – perhaps scarfed down right from the fridge between Zooms. 

And, of course, it's fast, so it's a great candidate for a weeknight dinner. (It's especially speedy if you use a food processor fitted with a grating blade to shred the carrots.) 

If you're feeling spontaneous, you could make it and invite over a friend for a last-minute meal to help ward off some of the loneliness the Surgeon General is talking about. 

I'm not saying this carrot salad will solve all your problems. But it might help with some of them. 

Shredded Carrot Salad with Caraway and Pistachios + Bratwursts and Greens

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Shredded Carrot Salad with Caraway and Pistachios + Bratwursts and Greens

Serves 4

The shredding goes much faster if you have a food processor with a grating blade. Or you could use a bag of store bought shredded carrots here. 

Caraway has a robust and distinctive flavor. If you're not a fan, swap in another spice. (See below for some ideas.)

When cooking meat, I like to wilt greens afterward to sweep up all the juices, so that's what I do here. 

1 pound carrots (about 3 large or 8 small) 

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

½ teaspoon caraway seeds

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

¼ to ½ cup shelled pistachios (depending on your budget and love for this nut)

½ cup tender herb leaves, such as cilantro, chives, mint, parsley, or tarragon

1 pound bratwursts (4 links)

4 to 5 ounces baby greens that are good for wilting, such as baby kale, Swiss chard, mustard greens, or arugula

Make the salad

Trim the carrots, then shred using a food processor fit with a grating blade or by hand with a box grater. Transfer to a bowl. 

Add the vinegar, 2 tablespoons of the oil, caraway seeds, and the sea salt, and toss, then taste. Add more salt, if you like. 

Roughly chop the pistachios and herbs, add them to the bowl, and then toss. 

Cook the bratwursts and greens, then serve

In a large skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium high heat. Have a lid nearby. Add the bratwursts and cook, turning occasionally, until browned all over, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and add ¼ cup water to the skillet. (Careful, it might spatter a bit!) 

Cover the sausages with the lid, letting them steam and cook through, about 5 minutes longer. 

Uncover the sausages and transfer to a platter. Add the greens and cook, turning them, until wilted, about 2 minutes. Transfer to the platter. Serve the sausages and greens with the carrot salad.

The short version

• Shred the carrots and toss them with the vinegar, 2 tablespoons oil, the salt, and caraway seeds. Roughly chop the pistachios and herbs, add them in, and toss again. 

• Brown, then steam the bratwursts. Transfer to a plate and cook the greens in all the lovely juices. Serve. 

Fun for kids

• Toss the carrots with the dressing. 

• More coordinated kids can help shred the carrots in the food processor or using a box grater. 

Swaps

• Instead of carrots, you could use other firm, crisp, juicy vegetables that are good shredded and raw, such as beets or kohlrabi.

• Instead of apple cider vinegar, use any vinegar you love or try lemon juice or lime juice. 

• Instead of olive oil, use a neutral oil or a toasted nut or seed oil. 

• Instead of caraway seeds, try cumin seeds, fennel seeds, celery seed, dill seed, or smashed coriander seed. Each spice will change the flavor of the salad, but they will all be good!

• Instead of pistachios, try roasted chopped almonds or slivered almonds, roasted hazelnuts, or roasted, chopped walnuts. 

• Instead of bratwursts, serve this salad with…really anything!

Bonus points

• To bring out the sweetness of the caraway and its more nuanced flavors, lightly toast the seeds in a small skillet for about 15 seconds over medium heat. Then transfer to a mortar and lightly smash. 

• Make the salad with a mix of vegetables, including beets and kohlrabi. 

• Toss the vinegar with some sliced or minced shallots or minced garlic and salt for a few minutes before adding the carrots. 

• Bulk out the carrot salad by adding some cooked grains or beans. (Add more vinegar, oil, and salt as necessary.)

• Add some chopped fresh chiles dried chile flakes if you'd like a little heat.