Carrots

Carrots

Carrots are one of the most fun and versatile vegetables out there, although they are deceptively ubiquitous and thus, unfortunately end up as the bland, overcooked endgame of a lot of recipes. Carrots feel like the nondescript, reliable friend that hides a vast, sprawling secret love of poetry. Not many other vegetables can span across almost every cooking culture and even make their way innocuously into fluffy cakes or even gingery sorbets.

Growing Lots’ carrots are sweet and tender, and the tri-colored variety offers a few varying levels of sweetness while still holding up to a good baking (or even grilling). I like to roast them until they are almost a bit crispy and blackened on the edges, rounding out their sweet caramelization with a note of bitterness. If I’m feeling lazy on a hot day, but still want to add some vegetables into whatever I’m eating, I’ll shave a few coins on a mandolin and have them over top of cooked salmon, or tossed into a salad for a bit of crunch.

The grassy tops, similar to parsley, can be used for pestos or in salads as a nice herbaceous bite, allowing usage of the entire carrot!

Some Carrot Recipes

Roasted Carrot Fries with Tahina

Ingredients:

About one pound of carrots, washed well, peeled if you’d like, and halved (or quartered if they’re quite large)

1 tablespoon of neutral oil

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

½ teaspoon chopped garlic (or garlic powder)

Optionally, ¼ cup parmesan, grated or microplaned (or ¼ cup nutritional yeast if you’d like to keep it dairy free!)

1 tablespoon chopped parsley (or carrot tops!)

4 medium-to-large cloves garlic, pressed or minced

¼ cup lemon juice

½ cup tahini

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

Pinch of ground cumin

6 tablespoons ice water, but more as needed

Method:

For the carrot fries, preheat your oven to 400*.

In a bowl, combine the carrots with the oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, lemon zest, and parmesan, if using. Spread the carrots on a baking sheet, being careful not to crowd the sheet.

Bake the carrots for approximately 15-20 minutes, until they are tender and lightly browned. Once they are cooked, remove them from the oven and toss with fresh parsley or carrot tops, and nutritional yeast, if using.  Salt a little more as needed, and serve with tahina.

For the tahina, let the minced garlic marinate in the lemon juice for about 20 minutes, and then strain it out, pressing the garlic against the sieve with a spoon to really get those bits of juice out of there. Reserve the garlic for another use (like roasting with the carrot fries). Whisk the tahini, salt, and cumin into a bowl, adding ice water a few tablespoons at a time to help keep the mixture from seizing. The ideal tahina is fluffy and soft! From here, you can adjust the seasoning as you’d like, with extra lemon, salt, or cumin.

Turmeric Dill Pickled Carrots

Ingredients:

4-6 medium carrots, scrubbed and peeled

½ an onion, julienned

3 cloves of garlic, crushed but left whole

A good little bunch of dill, approximately 4-5 stalks

3/4 cup apple cider vinegar

½ cup water

1 tablespoon salt

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

½ teaspoon black peppercorns

½ teaspoon mustard seed

1 teaspoon coriander seed

1 teaspoon sugar

Method:

Begin by cutting the carrots into large matchsticks (I usually doing this by halving the carrots, then quartering each piece, until they’ll fit into a glass mason jar), or alternately you can slice the carrots into coins. Place the carrots into a pint sized mason jar along with the sliced onion, dill, and garlic cloves.

Bring the apple cider vinegar, water, salt, and the rest of the ingredients for the brine up to a boil on the stove. Once it is boiling, pour it carefully over the carrot mixture in the jar. Let it come down to room temperature, then seal the jar with a lid. Refrigerate overnight and enjoy the next day!

Carrot, Apple, and Beet Salad with Kale

Ingredients:

4 carrots, scrubbed (and optionally, peeled)

1 apple (Fuji or Honeycrisp preferred, but whatever feels good!)

2 small or 1 medium beet, peeled

½ a bunch of kale, stemmed

Any mix of fresh herbs to taste, such as: carrot tops, parsley, cilantro, or basil

Toasted nuts or seeds to taste, such as pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, sliced almonds, or chopped cashews

½ cup of apple cider, rice wine, or white wine vinegar

2 teaspoons honey or maple syrup

1 teaspoon of dijon mustard

1 tablespoon of salt

1 cup of neutral oil

½ teaspoon chili flake

Method:

Begin by chopping the carrots, beets, and apples into thin slices (or matchstick them with a mandolin). Stem the kale and roll it up into one big wrap, then slice it thinly into a chiffonade. Toss all of the salad ingredients into a bowl and give it a mix. Tear some fresh herbs into the salad, and add some nuts or seeds if you would like.

For the dressing, combine the vinegar, sweetener, mustard, chili flake, and salt in a bowl, then slowly drizzle the oil in while whisking constantly. Season to taste. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Garnish with a few more herbs over top and more seeds, as you’d like.

writing credit: Sadie Sayre, CSA member