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Carrots with Garlic and Marsala

I’ve got quite a lot to say about carrots. In fact, I think I am more of a carrot fan than I had previously suspected. They are naturally sweet but robust enough to be combined with other strong flavours which allows an enormous number of possible combinations and recipes. I’m struggling to decide which recipe to post. Also bear in mind they are an essential part of any home made stock and form part of the “soffrito” or chopped vegetables which start off many sauces and risotti.

The orange carrot is actually relatively young in historical terms. You may have noticed that some of the larger supermarkets (vegetable section only entered for research purposes, you understand) are stocking purple carrots. These species came to Europe from Afganistan. The European varieties were all white (the early romans had a single word for carrot and parsnip) and were crossed with the purple ones by the Dutch to produce orange (they do like orange, the dutch) in the 1600s. There a quite a few different varieties on the market – look a little closer and you’ll find some with thin, tapering tips, some with blunt tips and of course the dwarf types that are marketed as “baby” carrots – they are just as old as the big ones.

For those who like trivia, any dish on a french menu termed “crecy” contains carrot eg potage crecy – carrot soup. I’ve gone for a savoury recipe this week (see previous entry for carrot muffins with cream cheese icing). If you don’t fancy messing about too much, just drop a knob of butter and any chopped herb into the pan once they are drained – they taste fantastic with tarragon.

Serves 4

* Carrots – as many as you think you’ll eat! probably about 500g * Olive oilGarlic – 2 cloves, chopped * Salt and pepper * Marsala – 75mls. Italian recipes always say “or other sweet wine” but as vin santo costs an arm and a leg, I’d stick with the marsala

Peel the carrots and dut into thick slices – done on the diagonal looks nice. Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan and cook the carrots on one side until browned – medium heat only. You want them to cook through gently during the browning process, not be burnt on the outside and raw in the middle. Turn over and add the garlic and some salt and pepper. I tend to leave the garlic until this stage as it is less likely to burn – overbrowned garlic is very bitter. Brown this side too then add the marsala. Keep cooking until the wine is reduced and thickened, adjust the seasoning and serve.

Regards
The Gourmet Doctor