Ah, carrots! Bright, extravagant, colorful food items that nowadays are often overlooked. They are still a kitchen staple, of course, and many chefs and home cooks alike would use them in every dish possible, from French consomme to Louisianian gambo, on the simple basis – carrots give sweetness. And we should celebrate that in every way possible. But how many recipes do you know where carrots shine on their own? Let us guess, a carrot cake? Well there is nothing wrong with that. It’s sweet, moist, tender, and simply delicious (btw, try cooking with other cultivars, not only orange, but purple, red, white, black and yellow!). But it’s time for us to say ‘thank you, carrots, for every sweet treat‘ and move on to the next level, where there is a whole new cornucopia of orange madness to discover.
First of all, try to make one step away from the cake and, if you want to stick with desserts, incorporate grated carrots into donut or pancake batter instead. Or bake a beautiful carrot yeast bread and serve it warm with spread butter and drizzled honey. Now we are talking here!
You don’t have a sweet tooth? No big deal. Let’s turn the page and look at what’s on the savory side of the menu. Go ahead and roast some root vegetables with a little salt. Then blend them with tahini, a pinch of sugar, cumin, paprika and a little water. And you have a gorgeous carrot hummus that is equally great on its own or on a cracker or a chip.
Want to stick something more classic? Not a problem. Saute carrots with some onions and garlic, cover with water and boil until tender. Then simply blend everything into smooth puree, dilute with some dairy and, voile, cream of carrot is ready to be served.
Or you can cut carrots into sticks, quickly blanch them and put them into Mason jar together with pickling spices and ordinary vinegar-water-salt solution. Let them stay for 48 hours before consuming as is or adding to a leafy green salad.
Nothing you can’t do on the go. Simply juice carrots and add a little cream, mix thoroughly and indulge in this easy but nonetheless delicious drink.
What do you think?