Carrots are not afforded the respect they deserve. Among the plethora of our wonderful root veg, carrots come near the bottom in the estimation of most people. This is monstrously unjust, because carrots can, and should, taste so good, and they can b
e cooked in a number of ways. They are a marvellously useful vegetable in their puréed state as a thickener, and they go so very well with spices. But I think that when plain steamed and puréed their appearance strikes chords of baby food in the minds of most – or worse, regurgitated baby food! As a vegetable, carrots are best roasted. This can be around a joint of lamb,
or a chicken. Or they can be roasted alone with complementary ingredients, as you will see in the following recipe. Too often, roast carrots are sweetened with honey and that is all – carrots themselves are a sweet vegetable, and whereas a form of sweetness added to them in the roasting pan can be good, it needs to be counteracted with sharpness, in the form of either balsamic vinegar, lemon or soy sauce,
or a mixture of two of those three. Steamed, carrots combine very well with leeks in a creamy parsley sauce – this is particularly good with baked or roast ham, but it is good with all other meats, too. Carrots are delicious braised with spices, and they also make for wonderful soups, spiked with fresh root ginger, or white truffle oil. Although my recipes today are all savoury, I must say that I consider carrot cake to be one of life's treats.
ROAST CARROTS WITH MAPLE SYRUP, SPRING ONIONS AND SOY SAUCE
SERVES 62lb/900g carrots, their ends cut off and the carrots peeled, and cut into chunks on the diagonal, about 2in/5cm in size
4 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons maple syrup
12 spring onions, trimmed of any outer leaves if necessary, their ends sliced off, and each spring onion sliced into 3 in length
finely grated rind of 2 lemons and 1 orange
2 tablespoons soy sauce
about 20 grinds of black pepper – no need for salt as the soy sauce contributes sufficient saltinessMix the prepared carrots with the olive oil, thoroughly. Spread them on a non-stick roasting tin and roast in a hot oven, 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6, for 20 minutes. Then take the roasting tin out of the oven and add the maple syrup, prepared spring onions, the grated rinds of the lemons and orange, the soy sauce and pepper. Mix well, spread out in the roasting tin, and put back into the oven for a further 20 minutes' roasting time. If your carrots are very thick, you may find they require a further 5-10 minutes' cooking time. Stick a fork into a piece of carrot to test. They should be quite tender.
SPICED BRAISED CARROTSThis is good with any meat, poultry or fish.
SERVES 63 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, skinned, cut in half and very thinly sliced
2lb/900g carrots, ends removed and the carrots peeled and cut into chunks on the diagonal, about 2in/5cm in size
1/2 teaspoon of cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon salt
15-20 grinds of black pepper
1/2 pint/285ml stock (I use Marigold powder made up with boiling water for this)
juice of 1 lemon
1 rounded tablespoon chopped parsley and snipped chives, mixedHeat the olive oil in a sauté pan and fry the sliced onion and the prepared carrots, shaking the pan from time to time, over moderate heat. Fry for about 10 minutes – beware too high a heat.
Put all the spices together in a deep bowl and bash them with the end of a rolling pin – or do this with a pestle and mortar if you have one. Add the pounded spices to the carrots and onion and fry the spices for a couple of minutes. Season with the salt and pepper, and pour in the stock and lemon juice. Bring the liquid to a gentle bubble, cover the sauté pan with its lid, and simmer gently for 15 minutes or until the carrots are quite tender when stuck with a fork. Take the lid off the pan, and continue to bubble till no liquid remains in the pan. Just before serving, mix the chopped parsley and chives through the spiced carrots.
GRATED CARROT, WATERCRESS AND ORANGE SALAD WITH GINGER AND HONEY DRESSINGThe carrots for this salad are briefly steamed, which I think makes this taste infinitely better than using the carrots raw. This salad is the perfect vegetable accompaniment for all game dishes as well as all roast meats.
SERVES 64 tablespoons olive oil
1in/21/2 cm length of root ginger, skin pared off and the ginger grated or diced very finely
11/2 lbs/675g carrots, ends sliced off, the carrots peeled, then coarsely grated
4 good oranges – navel, if you can find them
8oz/225g watercress, snipped with scissors to make it less messy to eat
1 tablespoon runny honey
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
about 15 grinds of black pepper
1 rounded tablespoon finely
snipped chivesPut the olive oil for the dressing into a small saucepan with the prepared ginger. Cook over moderate heat, for a couple of minutes, then take the pan off the heat and cool the ginger and oil.
Steam the grated carrots for 2 minutes, then cool them in a mixing bowl.
With a sharp serrated knife, slice the skin and white pith from the oranges. Slice in, towards the centre of each orange, carefully between the white pith of each segment, giving pithless orange segments. As you slice the segments, put them into a bowl.
Mix the snipped watercress into the cooled grated carrots.
Make the dressing by combining the honey with the cooled ginger and olive oil, the lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Mix well, then thoroughly mix the dressing into the carrot and watercress.
Divide the dressed watercress and carrots between each of six plates, and put three or four orange segments at the side of each. Scatter some snipped chives over each salad.
Alternatively, serve the salad in one bowl, with the orange segments around the sides.
Carrots can be mixed with sultanas, dates and oranges to create a hearty chutney for winter suppers
The full article contains 1100 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
