Red, Purple, Yellow and Orange Carrots
Jon and I stopped by the farmer’s market this weekend and bought two big bunches of multicolored carrots. Before we even moved on to the next stall to look at apples, I started thinking about how I wanted to cook the carrots. But all my carrot pondering did not lead to a happy afternoon in the kitchen. Instead, I developed a massive case of recipe indecision.
My problem is the carrots are just so pretty. I want to give them my very best, but I just can’t decide what that might be. So my spare time has been devoted to thoughts that go something like this:
“Oh! Oh! I know. I’ll rub them with olive oil, sprinkle them with cracked peppercorns and that new salt I picked up at the grocery store and roast them. Yes! That’s it…or maybe I should make Aunt Lisa’s carrot ginger soup because that would help my cold. But I don’t know if I really feel like ginger…So I could roast them. Or, I could slice them into matchsticks and serve them up on that cute little white platter with some creamy dressing. But what kind of creamy dressing?”
Clearly, I need help. So if you have a favorite carrot recipe, please send it my way!
Raw. I know it’s boring, but I love a raw carrot. Summer Run Farm has had some of the sweetest carrots this summer & fall. I buy them by the pound after pound. And I eat several raw carrots a day.
I also love them slow roasted in olive oil, salt & pepper as you mentioned. And, there’s nothing like beef stew with large chunks of onion, garlic, tomato, carrot, potato, jerusalem articoke and turnip to turn a cold day cozy.
Hope you feel better soon. Maybe a raw carrot will help?!
November 11th, 2008 at 5:37 pmMaybe you could just use a peeler and make a nice carrot salad? All the colors would show
November 11th, 2008 at 9:27 pmI want to paint with those colors. I say, do it all, go forward! Have fun.
November 12th, 2008 at 3:58 amMy favourite carrot dish is the Indian sweet Gajar Halwa (http://www.indianfoodforever.com/desserts/gajjar-ka-halwa.html , though I also like to add coconut).
However it can get a little mushy, which might mean losing some of the colour, which would be a shame here.
Those are beautiful carrots; they make my fingers itch to get planting.
November 12th, 2008 at 5:23 amOh, have I got the carrot recipe tp end all carrot recipes! It is a version of a Moroccan cooked salad (which to me, brings out all the goodness of the carrots) and it absolutely depends on the quality of the carrots. From Moro, the cookbook:
Carrot and Cumin salad with Corriander
450 grams (about 1 pound) carrots
2/3 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 garlic clove
juice of 3/4 lemon
1/3 teaspoon superfine sugar
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 small bunch coriander leaves (cilantro), roughly choped
sea salt
Peel the carrots and boil whole in salted water until they are just tender. Drain the carrots, spreading them out to cool and dy befpre slicing them quite thinly.
To roast the cumin seeds, place in a small saucepan and stir over a medium heat until you notice the color beginning to change (about 2 minutes). Pound the cumin in a mortar and pestle, then add the garlic and 1/2 tsp salt and pound some more. Mix the lemon juice, sugar and olive oil into the garlic mixture. Now toss the carrots in the cumin dressing with the cilantro. Serve at room temperature.
Enjoy!
November 12th, 2008 at 7:57 amHey Willi,
My mother-in-makes this occasionally & its really good:
Honey Carrot Coins & Cinnamon
approx 2 lb of carrots, sliced abt 1/4 thk
2 cups of water
Pinch of salt
3T of honey
2T Sugar
approx 1/4 cups of raisins
3T of veg oil
1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon
Combine carrots, water, salt in sauté pan. Bring to a boil. Cover & simmer on med-low heat for abt 10 min.
Add honey, sugar, raisins, oil & cinnamon. Uncover & cook over med-low heat, stirring occasionally for 15-20 minutes or until carrots are tender and most of the liquid is absorbed.
November 12th, 2008 at 8:17 amMy sister-in-law taught me to love raw carrots dipped in fancy (or plain) mustard. It’s yummy and hardly any calories!
November 12th, 2008 at 10:41 amRachel - thank you for the link to the Gajar Halwa recipe. I have had this at buffets at Indian restaurants and it is one of my favorite desserts, but I never knew the name to look up a recipe. Now I can make it myself!
November 12th, 2008 at 1:26 pmWow! You guys really came through. Looks like I’ll need to buy more carrots this weekend because I want to try each of these ideas. Thanks so much!
November 12th, 2008 at 1:30 pmI love glazed carrots, and it tends to preserve the colors if you don’t overcook them. I also love them chopped up and roasted with a little olive oil…
November 12th, 2008 at 2:14 pmInstead of golden pennies like your Nona made you could have “Rainbow” pennies!
November 13th, 2008 at 3:24 pm