Heirloom Carrot Salad W Dates, Almonds & Herbs

• Vinaigrette
• 2/3 cup Olive oil
• 1/3 Walnut , almond or grapeseed oil
• 1/3 Sherry vinegar
• 1 tablespoon date molasses, dark honey or grade bmaple syrup
• 1 squeeze lemon juice
• 1 shallot minced
• .5 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
• 1 really small garlic clove minced
• for the salad
• 1 cup almonds, marcona or blanched
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
• 2 bunches the most beautiful carrots you can find
• .5 cups slivered dates
• 2 cups baby arugula
• 1 cup mixed mint leaves, italian parsley, nastursium flowers (if you can find them)

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. toss almonds with cumin lemon juice & salt, put on baking sheet and toast
3. when toasted toss almonds with powdered sugar, crush almonds slightly with chef knife, they should look rustic..reserve (can be done a day ahead)
4. To make Vinaigrette...combine shallots, garlic, thyme, lemon juice, date molasses, salt & pepper, slowly whisk in oils till emulsified..taste, adjust seasoning to taste (can be done a day ahead)
5. wash carrots, peel off & discard first layer if necessary, set bowl of ice cold water in sink or on counter
6. using vegetable peeler continue to peel carrots down to the core creating ribbons, let carrot ribbons fall in to cold water to keep crisp. When all the carrots have are finished, drain and dry well (can be done a day ahead, if so keep carrots in water in fridge till ready )
7. wash & dry arugula & herbs
8. to serve: combine carrots with 2/3rd of vinaigrette, almonds & dates and toss well, (can be made about 1 hour ahead of time)..toss carrots with arugula and herbs, adjust vinaigrette amount to taste.

vinaigrette, olive oil, oil, sherry vinegar, molasses, lemon juice, shallot, thyme, garlic, salad, almonds, ground cumin, lemon juice, kosher salt, powdered sugar, carrots, dates, baby arugula, mixed mint

Taken from food52.com/recipes/1636-heirloom-carrot-salad-w-dates-almonds-herbs (may not work)