This rainbow of carrots is one of my souvenirs from the Royal Winter Fair. I figured they'd go over better than adopting a lop or lamb. I was going to use them to make a healthy carrot ginger soup for Accidental Hedonist, but just couldn't bring myself to puree these gorgeous colors into mush.
So, I julienned them.
And made a quick carrot-ginger side dish with real kick. Sure you can use ordinary carrots. But if you've got them, flaunt them...
Just look at these colours! Lemon yellow, beet purple, ruby red and classic carrot orange. I almost didn't want to use them. Almost.
They lose a bit of their intensity when cooked, but the kick of ginger will distract you. I promise.
And without further ado. My recipe.
Quick Carrot and Ginger Saute
Printable recipe
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp butter *
- 2 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
- zest of 1 orange
- 3 cups carrots, julienned
- 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
- 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
- pinch of kosher salt
- fresh ground pepper to taste
- sprinkle of fresh minced cilantro (optional)
Instructions
- Prepare all ingredients and have assembled.
- Heat large skillet over medium-high heat. Melt butter.
- When butter is foamy, add ginger and orange zest. Saute for 2 minutes.
- Add carrots. Toss to coat and saute for 2 more minutes.
- Add orange juice and maple syrup. Cook, tossing continually, for about 1 minute or until the juice has evaporated slightly.
- Salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with cilantro, if using.
- Serve immediately.
![[Get Copyright Permissions]](http://license.icopyright.net/images/icopy-w.gif){kind=small}
Click here for copyright permissions!
14 comments:
I'm so glad you didn't make the soup - this is much a much better homage to these carrot's inherent beauty!
Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. And impressive knife skills to boot.
Dear Charmian,
Who knew carrots came in that many colours?? Good call on the soup, 'forever gray' is the hue it would have turned out, and really, who wants gray food?
Cheers,
Robin
Hmmmm.... that looks good. I'll have to try it since I'm getting some similar ingredients for a veggie side-dish I'm attempting for Thanksgiving.
Very pretty pictures!
Dana, they were so pretty it took me days to figure out how to use them to full effect.
Cheryl, many thanks for your kind words. While I did take the photo, I sliced the carrots with a mandolin (using the guard, of course).
Robin, did you know our cousin Donna grew coloured carrots this summer? Too bad she lives in Seattle.
Roxanne, let me know how it works out. I'm a ginger freak and loved the crunchy / hot / sweet results.
Be wary of using the purple carrots in cooked dishes such as soups. They might turn the food a very unappetizing shade of gray. I grew some of them and that is what happened. Otherwise, very beautiful and delicious.
Thanks for the heads up about not using the purple carrots in soup. They're too pretty to puree, but now that I know they'll turn grey?! I'll keep them raw or slightly sauteed.
Carrots are seriously one of my favorite foods in the world. I am embarrassed to admit I'd never even seen some of thse types before! I was really excited to come across this, along with such a lovely, clean recipe that lets the carrot flavor shine through.
Cool! I didn't know there were so many different colors of carrots.
Beautiful. I love the purple ones!
Cakespy and Hillary, I didn't know carrots came in so many colours either. I was so inspired, I plan to grow some this coming summer (if it ever arrives).
Lisa, the photo doesn't show it but there was also a carrot that was almost white. The purple carrots had an orange core and looked gorgeous when chopped.
How beautiful! I would love to pickle these carrots, I'm thinking of all kinds of things to do with them...slaw, maybe? So many possibilities!
hi Christie
First time in your blog but truly hope to come back for more.
Honestly, I didn't knew there were so many colorful carrots out there. My question are this naturally colored or is the results of man intervention somehow?
Sophisticaitlin, I never thought about pickling these, but they would be gorgeous.
Heidileon, these carrots came out of the ground this way. Carrots naturally come in many colours, although we rarely see anything but orange in the supermarkets. Check out the UK's Carrot Museum for more info. Personally, I found the red carrots the most flavourful and the white carrots very bland, but they make a stunning display.
http://www.carrotmuseum.co.uk/today.html
Post a Comment