You don’t need another recipe, except this one: Italian summer carrot salad

Summer Carrot Salad Italiano

This Sicilian carrot salad is the most popular dish I make in summer because, whenever I serve it to family or guests, it quickly disappears — “They inhale it” — and people want the recipe. Those are pretty good indicators that you’ve scored a hit. (The photo at top is not the complete salad; it does not show the generous amount of capers, garlic, chopped lemon and parsley that make the salad so robust.)

You will need carrots, garlic, lemon, capers and fresh parsley. You must be willing to chop a whole lemon (rind and all, but not the seeds) for this dish. Ingredients: Cooked carrots cut into discs, chopped garlic, parsley and whole lemon, olive oil, salt and drained capers.

I discovered this recipe 25 years ago, when Giuliano Bugialli visited my television show in Baltimore and gave samples to the studio audience. The recipe can be found in one of his books, “Bugialli’s Italy,” the companion book to his PBS series, (Morrow, 1998). But here it is, for your convenience, with a note from me about cooking the carrots.

Ingredienti:

2 pound carrots

Coarse-grain salt

1 medium-size lemon

15 sprigs Italian parsley, leaf only

2 large cloves garlic, peeled

2 tablespoons capers, drained

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Instruzioni

Boil the carrots with skin on in salted water for 10 minutes or so, depending on size. The carrots must be cooked, but not mushy and not under-cooked. Remove the skins under cold running water and cut the carrots into disks about a quarter-inch thick. (*Dan’s note: You can do this the easy way: Peel the carrots, then boil them, then put them in ice water and cut into discs when they are cool.)

Cut the lemon into quarters and each quarter into very thin slices, skin and all. Then chop.

Coarsely chop the parsley and finely chop the garlic, then combine. Place the carrots, chopped lemon pieces and capers together in a large crockery or glass bowl. Add the olive oil and garlic mixture, salt and pepper to taste. Mix very well and transfer to a serving dish. Serve chilled or at room temperature with a few leaves of the parsley on each portion.

REMINDER: The Peppers-and-Eggs Sandwich is the official meal of Labor Day