Carrots

[sandynva]

From watching Top Chef at least it seems like carrots are a trend or at least becoming quite popular. They seem to be the focus of a lot of dishes, often seared or roasted. I've not been a huge fan of cooked carrots (mostly because they're sweet, and I prefer savory things) but admittedly I've mostly had them in soups and stews (where they were only ok) glazed with sugar (not a fan) or simply roasted (eh).  I'm curious to see if I like some of the newer preparations. I was wondering-does anyone have any savory carrot recipes that they think might convert a carrot agnostic? thank you.

[Bart]

You don't happen to have the "Essential Jacques Pepin" do you?

There's a great carrot recipe in there called Butter Glazed Carrots. I can't find it online but it's super easy and very good.

Basically you take a bunch of carrots and peel them, and then just use your peeler to slice up the rest of the carrot into long, thin strips. Then you put them in a pot with a very small amount of water, some finely chopped garlic and (I think) some finely chopped parsley. You cook them for a very short time....maybe 5 minutes, maybe not even that much and you're done.!

Easy, different, and way better than "regular" carrots.

I can probably post a photo of the recipe later if you're interested.

[ktmoomau]

You don't happen to have the "Essential Jacques Pepin" do you?

There's a great carrot recipe in there called Butter Glazed Carrots. I can't find it online but it's super easy and very good.

Basically you take a bunch of carrots and peel them, and then just use your peeler to slice up the rest of the carrot into long, thin strips. Then you put them in a pot with a very small amount of water, some finely chopped garlic and (I think) some finely chopped parsley. You cook them for a very short time....maybe 5 minutes, maybe not even that much and you're done.!

Easy, different, and way better than "regular" carrots.

I can probably post a photo of the recipe later if you're interested.

Is this it?

"Glazed Parsley Carrots" by Pierre Franley on nytimes.com

There was another one I found with garlic, but it used baby carrots.

[Bart]

No, that's not it. Close but not the J. Pepin one. I found both the recipes you mention but couldn't find the one I was looking for.

The hardest part of the recipe is peeling the carrots because at some point you end up with very little carrot to hold, and it's quite flimsy so it's hard to continue peeling. But the carrots in the recipe I'm talking about are paper thin (or as thin as the veggie peeler allows).

[Bart]

Here's Jacques Pepin's recipe that I was talking about. If you can find (or grow) two different color carrots, it becomes a visually stunning dish. If not, it's still petty stunning (different) and tastes great.

[Sundae in the Park]

I like all vegetables done this way but perhaps you'd like carrots roasted with a bunch of salt, pepper, oil, and curry powder? Sweetish but plenty savory. We have these all the time.

[saf]

Here's Jacques Pepin's recipe that I was talking about. If you can find (or grow) two different color carrots, it becomes a visually stunning dish. If not, it's still petty stunning (different) and tastes great.

Based on this recommendation, I made this for a dinner party this weekend. I have been informed that it needs to go into the regular rotation by everyone who was present. Thank you for the suggestion!

(We got that book for Christmas. Very timely.)

[Sundae in the Park]

Based on this recommendation, I made this for a dinner party this weekend. I have been informed that it needs to go into the regular rotation by everyone who was present. Thank you for the suggestion!

(We got that book for Christmas. Very timely.)

I'm with sandynva and prefer savory things, so would you say that this recipe falls on the savory or sweeter side dish continuum? If it is sweetish, what would you think about cutting or eliminating the sugar from the recipe? Do you think that would still work?

[saf]

would you say that this recipe falls on the savory or sweeter side dish continuum? If it is sweetish, what would you think about cutting or eliminating the sugar from the recipe? Do you think that would still work? 

It wasn't that sweet. I made it as written, and everyone liked it that way. I suppose you could cut the sugar - but it's 2 teaspoons in 2 pounds of carrots, with advice to cut it if your carrots are very sweet. I think the sugar helped make the sauce/glaze the right texture.

Maybe you want something more like a Moroccan carrot salad? Those don't tend to be too sweet. More spicy, a bit anyhow.