I'm going to level with you. Carrots are not my favorite. I'll tolerate raw sticks as long as they're super fresh, super cold, and super covered in ranch dressing. But cooked? My feeling is meh. This said, there are a few places where even I feel that carrots will hold their own.
- Homemade Stock: Gotta have carrots. Without them, both chicken and vegetable stocks lack an essential sweet character and taste decidedly one-dimensional.
- Stews: Beef stew, lentil stew, or chicken soup all need at least one carrot in the mix. Not only do carrots add a touch of sweetness to the broth as the soup simmers, just like with stock, but the vegetable itself adds balance to a rich and hearty stew like nothing else.
- Cake: We're talking carrot cake, of course! I love this cake with all my heart, and it's not just because of the cream cheese frosting. Baking the carrots seems to transform the shreds of carrot into something lush and not-too-sweet.
- Slaw: Slaws made with shredded carrots in the mix take full advantage of the crunch of raw carrots while adding the bonus of a zingy dressing. I like ones that mix carrots with ingredients like cabbage and beets the best.
- Pickled: If you've never tried a pickled carrot, put it on your list. Even carrot un-lovers like me will munch these extra-crispy, vinegary sticks until the entire jar is empty.
Do you love carrots? Or hate them? Either way, where do find yourself using carrots the most?
Related: Where Do Baby Carrots Come From? Behind the Scenes at a Baby Carrot Harvest
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I love carrots and always have them around, but I feel like I sometimes take them for granted and leave them languishing in the bottom of the veg drawer.
I like em sweet and savory.
I made a yummy soup the other day with carrots, parsnips, ginger, apple and red lentils. Smooth and bright.
http://outoftheordinaryfood.com/2013/02/06/parsnip-apple-carrot-and-red-lentil-soup/
Here's a curried carrot, cashew and cauliflower bisque my sons loved...
http://outoftheordinaryfood.com/2012/11/15/isaacs-birthday-and-curried-carrot-cauliflower-and-cashew-bisque-and-seeded-biscuits/
Little pies with roasted carrots and apples, goat cheese and a rosemary crust...
http://outoftheordinaryfood.com/2011/11/25/roasted-carrot-apple-with-goat-cheese-in-a-rosemary-crust/
And for sweet, carrot cake with a pistachio crumb topping, flavored with cardamom and ginger...
http://outoftheordinaryfood.com/2012/04/18/carrot-cake-with-pistachio-crumb-topping/
Here's a ginger-glazed caramelized onion and carrot recipe I make for my toddler son all the time:
http://www.bitesforbabies.com/recipes/ginger-glazed-carrots-and-caramelized-onions/
They need a lot of cooking with plenty of salt. I think we undercook most veg and we definitely undersalt them, as a counter to all those years of cafeteria overcooked food. But we went overboard the other way.
My favorite carrot cake recipe is from Cooks Illustrated. So easy and so moist.
And juicing them? I love carrot juice with a bit of orange or ginger, or both.
My sister makes these homemade energy bars called Panther Bars using LOTS of carrots. She says: "There’s a 100% success rate with the adults and about a 70% success rate with children thus far, which I also consider pretty darn good!" http://shefskitchen.wordpress.com/2012/09/04/back-to-school-lunchbox-kits-and-snackable-homemade-energy-bars/
Love em. Roasted to bring out the sweetness tossed with baby spinach. Raw, grated with crushed garlic and walnuts and a little oil. Matchstick cut with raw matchstick beets and a ginger dressing is delicious and crisp. Carrot cake and cupcakes is my go to and not just as a vehicle for cream cheese and as a bonus can easily be made gluten free for a special treat at work for those who cannot indulge in the usual cookie platter.
I like cooking them slowly in butter and honey until they're sticky and soft. Yum.
I love carrots! I always have a 5 lb bag in the fridge. My favorites: shredded with a tangy vinagarette, juiced with beets and apples, roasted with potatoes and garlic and onions. As a bonus, carrots are very cheap (even organic)!
I make them with butter & brown sugar. Never tried honey but I will now!
All the g-kids love them.
This Carrot Ginger soup is a delicious Fall/Winter comfort food that is naturally creamy (no dairy!) and tastes so different from the ordinary. Highly recommend! http://www.eatliverun.com/carrot-ginger-soup/
I have to confess I adore that old-school carrot/raisin/sometimes pineapple salad! I also like them a lot in soups like butternut-carrot-ginger, just like a few other folks mentioned above. I also like to just gently poach them --especially the smaller, whole ones -- in water with a touch of butter and dill.
I agree with you wholeheartedly. Coincidentally, last night I tried to have cooked carrots as a side for our meatloaf. I used the glazing "recipe" from Vegetables by James Peterson. My husband said that the texture was good, but it didn't really have a distinct flavor. Which was great, since the flavor of a cooked carrot is pungent and undesirable to us. I didn't even salt them. We both ate very large servings and chalked it up to a good recipe, if you are going to have cooked carrots, make them nondescript I guess, haha.
Yum! I love carrots in any form, I think cooked a little better. I live with my sister and after putting carrots in more things she is starting to like them too.soup. stew. salad. roasted.
ahhh!
Pickled, sort of. I finish my natural local pickles and then baton carrots into the remaining brine. It's good for another few cycles, and I run out of brine before it goes cloudy.
Another carrot-raisin salad lover here! Add PB to the traditional mayo dressing and it's especially delicious!
Also, slow roasted with plenty of butter, salt and thyme . . . mmmmmmm!
All time favorite juice: carrot, apple and ginger.
We shred carrots to a coconut-like consistency as a topping for taco night.
Carrot kinpira (made from matchstick carrots) made me love cooked carrots in a way I never thought I would
http://justbento.com/handbook/recipes-side-dishes-and-space-fillers/easy-sugarfree-carrot-kinpira
I think people who don't like raw carrots might enjoy them much more if they tried them shredded, they're crunchy and sweet and perfect for salads.
Once I had fresh small farmers market carrots, I was totally turned off of insipid grocery store options. SO much better! I tend to cover them in (quality) lard and salt and roast them until golden brown and delicious. Oil poaching is similarly tasty.
Oh Im so glad Im not the only one who doesn't like carrots. Raw is tolerable but I only enjoy eating them roasted (and served with lots of other root vegetables). Seems weird since I love all other orange foods.
Peanut butter in the carrot/raisin dressing??? Genius, @griffin!
I love carrots, but my husband hates them! However, I always have them in the house and find many, many uses for them that he never notices. They are always useful in stocks and stews, but I use them in many of my roasts as well.
-jessica
When I was a kid my mom would often make boiled and mashed carrots and parsnips, just mix them together wth butter and salt. Now my own kids love this dish and will happily have just a bowl of this for dinner. It's especially good with roast chicken and green beans!
Jamie Oliver's Carrot Avocado Salad has got to be one of my favourite ways to use carrots differntly- my take on it: (http://kaleeats.blogspot.ca/2012/08/carrot-green-bean-and-avocado-salad.html)
once we started getting organically locally grown carrots, the kids refused any grocery store variety. we last til about now with the mud caked ones in the crisper since fall. Ooooh, and we love the purple ones best!
I like curly carrots in a spa salad - you cut them with long strokes of the peeler. I think carrots are the best vegetable - both delicious and cheap!
These carrot posts are haunting my dreams..or maybe, I just need to get out more.
http://soliloquyoffoodandsuch.blogspot.ca/2013/02/quick-carrot-salad.html