Sweet carrot salad

This classic salad seemed ubiquitous at social gatherings in the 1980s, at least in Mexico; many showers, potlucks and birthday parties would include some version of sweet carrot salad, to serve along with pork roast, chicken or devilled eggs. 

Sweet Carrot Salad – Ensalada dulce de zanahoria

Printable recipe: Sweet Carrot Salad

Ingredients (for 6 to 8 portions)

4 medium carrots; washed and peeled
½ cup freshly boiled water
½ cup raisins
½ cup walnuts
2 slices canned pineapple in juice 
¼ cup pineapple juice, from the can
½ cup mayonnaise
½ cup cream (Mexican or sour), or yogurt
1 tsp sugar, or to taste
½ tsp salt, or to taste
¼ tsp black pepper, or to taste

Shred carrots with a cheese grater or in the food processor; place in a mixing bowl and reserve.  In a small bowl, soak raisins in the boiling water; slice pineapple into chunks, and reserve; chop walnuts, and reserve:

In another bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, cream, and sugar; add salt, pepper and pineapple juice:

Mix thoroughly to form a smooth and fluffy dressing; reserve.

After a few minutes, drain and discard water from raisins, then add re-hydrated raisins to the bowl with the carrots, along with the reserved pineapple chunks and chopped walnuts (photo below, left).  Pour dressing into the bowl (photo below, right):

Incorporate, folding  everything together.  Refrigerate until serving time:

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In my previous post, I mentioned some special dishes that Christian families might eat for Easter in Canada and Mexico, and several readers have kindly commented about their own Easter meals: Jim @ A Unique Title for Me enjoys ham and baked potatoes, while Lou @ Louis N. Carreras, Woodcarver strives to honour his Hungarian grandmother’s traditions, and bakes poppy seed bread; for Mason @ Mason’s Mind Menagerie, it is roast lamb with garlic roast potatoes and mint sauce; Ukrainian influence shows in Sue @ Jibber Jabber with Sue‘s menu of turkey, stuffing, potatoes, cabbage rolls and perogies; Stacy @ Quirky, Confused and Curvy recalls her family always having ham and devilled eggs, but because of her Slovakian mom, the highlights were “Paska Bread, Bobalki (buttered dough balls), and Hlushka (noodles and cabbage)”; Eilene @ Myricopia does not celebrate Easter, so no special meals are expected, but she recalls egg hunts and candy from her childhood; Mr. Bump, in the UK, is not cooking anything special, but loves hot cross buns as a salute to the occasion; the caboose of the conversation was an anonymous comment, with the antithesis of a traditional Easter meal, planning to have “some spicy and numbing Sichuan food for dinner with friends.” 

Currently living in Canada, we usually go to Toronto and spend Easter with my in-laws, who are originally from Cyprus, so we would have a Greek-style Easter Sunday lunch of roasted lamb, lemony potatoes, braided sweet bread and red-coloured hard boiled eggs. Hence, I usually do not have to worry about cooking a meal for Easter Sunday, but because of COVID19, this is the second year in a row that we will stay home; I have chosen lamb, or roasted turkey, but without the stuffing, serving instead with garlicky baby potatoes and this sweet carrot salad:

¡Feliz Domingo de Pascua! – Happy Easter Sunday!

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I am sharing my recipe at Over the Moon #271, graciously hosted by Bev @ Eclectic Red Barn, and Marilyn @ Marilyn’s Treats.  Special thanks to Bev for including my Stuffed Avocado Tuna Salad amongst her features at this party.

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I am joining What’s for Dinner? Sunday Link-Up #309 with Helen @ The Lazy Gastronome.

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I am sharing my recipe at Thursday Favourite Things #484, with Bev @ Eclectic Red Barn, Pam @ An Artful Mom, Katherine @ Katherine’s Corner, Amber @ Follow the Yellow Brick Home, Theresa @ Shoestring Elegance and Linda @ Crafts a la Mode.

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I am bringing my recipe to Full Plate Thursday #531 with Miz Helen @ Miz Helen’s Country Cottage.

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I am also joining Fiesta Friday #375 with Angie @ Fiesta Friday.