Green Salad with Peppery Carrot Pennies

This recipe does not remotely resemble any Irish dish that I know of; nonetheless, I am claiming it as my contribution to the flurry of St. Patrick's Day-themed memorabilia and festivities. The recipe does, in my defense, contain two colours from the Irish flag. And carrot soup is common in Ireland. And the salad looks very green. So there you have a couple connective strands. But enough with the hemming and hawing- what's important here is that this is really quite delicious. It's also pretty hands-off. The only hard part is waiting for the carrots to cook.

Only now do I realize that I could have really elevated the dish (and completed the trifecta of Ireland's flag colours) by speckling the salad with rustic chunks of white Dubliner cheese. It's a favorite of my family's. I'm including the cheese in the recipe list, so that hopefully you will add it to your salad. I, alas, will have to wait until next time. But cheese or no cheese, the carrot pennies cooked down beautifully in about forty minutes. They are simple to prepare. I just gave them a quick slip-and-slide through the oil coating the pan. But it's the black pepper that I love--several good shakes of the biting specks brighten up the dish and act as a foil to the sweet carrot and the tangy dressing.

Serves 1.
Green Salad with Peppery Carrot Pennies
Ingredients:
2 carrots, scrubbed clean
1 TBSP olive oil
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
one large handful lettuce leaves (I used oak leaf lettuce, I believe)
salad dressing of choice (I used bottled red wine vinaigrette)
white cheddar or other sharp cheese, crumbled into small pieces (optional, but highly recommended)

Directions:
--Heat oven to 475 degrees F. Cut carrots into rounds, about 1/2 an inch wide. Take a 9-inch round or square pan and coat with oil. Add carrots to pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spread carrots across pan, turning over to coat both sides with the oil, salt, and pepper. Roast for 40 minutes or until outsides have crisped and a knife easily pokes through the pennies.
--Wash lettuce and place in a bowl or on a plate. Toss with 1-2 TBSP dressing. Top the salad with the roasted pennies. Add cheese if desired.