The humble carrot: healthy, delicious, cheap, and underrated. While salads and carrot sticks are obvious choices, there are so many things that you can do with this vegetable! Here are three suggestions....
1) Roasted
Carrots are sweet, which means that they roast beautifully. It's also ridiculously easy: once the carrots are in the oven all you need to do is set a timer and take them out when it dings...no need to slave over the stove checking for done-ness.
The method is basic. First, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Cut up the carrots into bite sized pieces (as a general rule, the larger they are, the longer they will take to cook). Toss them with a little oil (I prefer canola or vegetable oil for this since olive oil tends to smoke in the oven at high temperatures), add salt and pepper to taste, as well as whatever other spices/flavours you desire. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast for about 20 minutes (longer if necessary).
2) Soup
I love vegetable soups: they are creamy and delicious...and ridiculously good for you since they amount to little more than veggie puree thinned out with a little chicken stock. Also, really easy to make. For this particular curried carrot soup you will need the following:
-2 tbsp olive oil
-1 medium onion, chopped
-1 1/2 pounds of carrots, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces (if you can't be bothered peeling/chopping, just buy a bag of baby carrots from the store!)
-6 cups chicken stock
-1 1/2 tbsp curry powder
-1/4 to 1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper (more=spicier)
-salt and pepper (to taste)
-sour cream (for serving)
Preheat a large pot over medium heat. Add olive oil, onion, and carrots; saute 5 minutes. Add 4 cups of chicken stock, curry powder, cayenne, and about 1 tsp of salt. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer until the carrots are very tender (15 minutes or so). Remove from heat, and use a hand blender to blend until smooth (or, you can blend small batches in a normal blender. Be careful though...hot liquids in a blender tend to splash!). Return to heat; if the soup is too thick add more chicken stock (until you reach the desired consistency). Add salt and pepper to taste; serve with sour cream.
3) Bake
Muffins are a great place to put vegetables, especially since grated veggies take the place of oil or milk. These muffins are extra special since they also contain crushed pineapple...and they freeze really well!
-1 1/2 cups flour
-3/4 cup packed brown sugar
-3/4 cup natural bran
(If you don't like bran in your muffins you can just use 2 cups of flour and omit the bran. Another option is to use 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour and 1/2 cup of whole wheat!)
-1 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp baking soda
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 tsp cinnamon
Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Make a well in the centre, and set aside.
-2 eggs
-1 cup grated carrot
-1 can (398 mL) crushed pineapple with juice
-1 tbsp cooking oil
In a small bowl beat eggs lightly. Add carrot, pineapple, and oil; mix well. Pour the wet ingredients into the well in the centre of the dry ingredients. Stir to moisten.
(At this point you can, if you choose, add 1 cup of raisins or dried cranberries.)
Fill greased muffin cups with batter. Bake at 400 degrees F for 20 to 25 minutes.
1) Roasted
Carrots are sweet, which means that they roast beautifully. It's also ridiculously easy: once the carrots are in the oven all you need to do is set a timer and take them out when it dings...no need to slave over the stove checking for done-ness.
The method is basic. First, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Cut up the carrots into bite sized pieces (as a general rule, the larger they are, the longer they will take to cook). Toss them with a little oil (I prefer canola or vegetable oil for this since olive oil tends to smoke in the oven at high temperatures), add salt and pepper to taste, as well as whatever other spices/flavours you desire. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast for about 20 minutes (longer if necessary).
 |
| Using a mix of coloured carrots is not only delicious, it's also beautiful! |
I love vegetable soups: they are creamy and delicious...and ridiculously good for you since they amount to little more than veggie puree thinned out with a little chicken stock. Also, really easy to make. For this particular curried carrot soup you will need the following:
-2 tbsp olive oil
-1 medium onion, chopped
-1 1/2 pounds of carrots, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces (if you can't be bothered peeling/chopping, just buy a bag of baby carrots from the store!)
-6 cups chicken stock
-1 1/2 tbsp curry powder
-1/4 to 1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper (more=spicier)
-salt and pepper (to taste)
-sour cream (for serving)
Preheat a large pot over medium heat. Add olive oil, onion, and carrots; saute 5 minutes. Add 4 cups of chicken stock, curry powder, cayenne, and about 1 tsp of salt. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer until the carrots are very tender (15 minutes or so). Remove from heat, and use a hand blender to blend until smooth (or, you can blend small batches in a normal blender. Be careful though...hot liquids in a blender tend to splash!). Return to heat; if the soup is too thick add more chicken stock (until you reach the desired consistency). Add salt and pepper to taste; serve with sour cream.
 |
| You can make these fancy hearts by putting down small dollops of sour cream and then dragging a toothpick through them in a circle. |
Muffins are a great place to put vegetables, especially since grated veggies take the place of oil or milk. These muffins are extra special since they also contain crushed pineapple...and they freeze really well!
-1 1/2 cups flour
-3/4 cup packed brown sugar
-3/4 cup natural bran
(If you don't like bran in your muffins you can just use 2 cups of flour and omit the bran. Another option is to use 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour and 1/2 cup of whole wheat!)
-1 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp baking soda
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 tsp cinnamon
Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Make a well in the centre, and set aside.
-2 eggs
-1 cup grated carrot
-1 can (398 mL) crushed pineapple with juice
-1 tbsp cooking oil
In a small bowl beat eggs lightly. Add carrot, pineapple, and oil; mix well. Pour the wet ingredients into the well in the centre of the dry ingredients. Stir to moisten.
(At this point you can, if you choose, add 1 cup of raisins or dried cranberries.)
Fill greased muffin cups with batter. Bake at 400 degrees F for 20 to 25 minutes.
 |
| As always...enjoy!! |
Love this! I found a lovely spicy carrot soup recipe that uses ginger and red pepper flakes for a great kick. I will definitely try some of your carrot muffin recipes.
ReplyDelete