The Joy of Carrots
So I went on a rant the other day with the trigger for said rant being a video where a professional chef demonstrated a recipe for braised carrots that takes well over an hour. I have no doubt whatsoever that the carrots are stunningly delicious but I can’t imagine a cook at home taking all that time and preparation for a side dish. Perhaps for a special dinner party, but certainly not for family dinner.
Having expressed myself there, though, I feel obligated to offer some alternatives that do satisfy the constraints imposed on a home cook while still delivering carrots that taste good with big flavor. In my childhood, carrots were always sliced in disks, boiled, and served with melted butter, unless they came out of a can, in which case who knows how they were cooked but they were accompanied by butter and too much salt.
I like carrots and my true love says they are her favorite vegetables, so we have carrots frequently and it can be a challenge to make them interesting when you eat them so often. The key is knowing some basic techniques and then knowing how to improvise.
#1 RAW CARROT SALAD – This one is as easy as can be. Grate as many carrots as you need for dinner. Add a splash of extra virgin olive oil and a splash of lemon juice – enough of both to make the grated carrots glisten as you toss them but not so much that you make it soupy. Now it’s time to great creative. To this base you can add raisins, pine nuts, walnuts, cashews, fresh parsley, fresh tarragon, herbes de Provence, or whatever else strikes your fancy. Carrot salads like this are often staples of French bistros and offer a bright, light side dish.
#2 GLAZED CARROTS – This approach is a little more difficult only because there’s a point in the process where you have to pay attention. The end results are not dissimilar to what you get with boiled carrots, but I think they taste better and are actually a little easier. Cut up the carrots as desired (disks, chunks, etc.) and put them in a small-medium saucepan. Cover with enough water to come halfway up the carrots. Turn the heat to high and partially cover. By the time the water boils away, the carrots will be done but here’s where you have to pay attention. You need to be there right as the water goes. If you don’t, then the carrots will burn. If you do, then toss them a little in the last drops of water and the carrots will caramelize just a little to add a little sweetness and texture.
This is also where the fun starts – because now you can start improvising. Want something sweet? Add a little honey or maple syrup. Or try diluting the honey with some lemon or the maple syrup with Tabasco sauce. Savory? Splash in some olive oil and sherry vinegar, then add some tarragon or herbes de Provence. Or go exotic, by adding some olive oil, lemon juice, and a North African spice blend (harissa, tabil, or a cumin/sumac blend. Or just explore your spice cabinet with olive oil, some vinegar/citrus and whatever spices strike your fancy.
Boiled carrots can be used the same way, except overcooking results in mush rather than burned carrots, and the carrots have to be drained before you get creative.
#3 ROASTED CARROTS – In some ways, roasting carrots might be the easiest method of all. Roasting carrots produces a sweetness that the other methods don’t but that sweetness limits the way that you can add other flavors to the mix. I tend to use a hotter oven (425°) and opt for shorter time periods(12 to 20 minutes) but I’ve seen instructions for roasting at temperatures as low as 325°. Experiment as you see fit. Cut the carrots as desired or leave them whole and place on a lined baking sheet. Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and add some herbs if you like. Because roasted carrots have a bigger flavor, you can add bolder seasonings like rosemary, tarragon, or sage. Check after 10 minutes or so and toss the carrots around a little bit to even out the roasting and the seasonings. This method of cooking can be visually dramatic if you use multi-colored carrots.
#4 SAUTÉED CARROTS – This way of cooking carrots is new to my tool kit but very welcome. The way that carrots are usually prepared, sautéing them wouldn’t get them cooked. However, if you slice the carrots thinly – say 1/8″ – they will cook in hot oil in a couple of minutes. My first attempt used bacon fat and worked really well. The carrots accepted the sweet, smoky taste of the bacon very easily. I’ve also used olive oil and shallots, olive oil and tarragon, and olive oil with a splash of lemon juice and a little lemon zest and they all worked too. Be careful not to use too much fat – in most cases, one tablespoon is perfectly fine.
What makes carrots great, to me at least, is that all of these approaches to cooking them work really well, all are simple, and while they all taste like carrots, they all taste different enough to keep things interesting. And they don’t get in the way of doing something creative with the main dish.