Recipe and Photo by Mackenzie Smith

Judy Kim taught me an easy trick for making crisp thinly sliced root vegetables and fennel, and I use this method all the time for throwing together a simple salad. A mandoline is great for this, but if you don’t have one, slice your veggies as thin as you can before placing in ice water. One of each vegetable is enough to make a salad that feeds 3-4 as a side, but I often shave veggies into ice water and take them as I need them throughout the day.

• 1 carrot
• 1 fennel bulb
• 1 small rutabaga
• 2-3 pecans
• Flaky sea salt
• Olive oil
• Lemon juice

Photo by Mackenzie Smith.

Using a mandoline, thinly slice your vegetables and place in ice water. Chill for at least 10 minutes, no longer than 12 hours.

Dry vegetables on a towel before plating, and top with olive oil, lemon juice, and salt. Sprinkle with pecans.

If you have soft herbs on hand, add them! Parsley, basil, mint, cilantro or dill would all be great here. Grapefruit supremes or thinly sliced apples would also be a beautiful addition to this salad.

Photo by Mackenzie Smith.