Carrots are another example of an awesome vegetable that is often over looked and underappreciated. They certainly are not trending like kale or brussels sprouts. It is important to prepare them with the same love and respect as when they were grown. A carrot should taste like a carrot.
When cooked, carrots keep their shape well and keep their orange colour thanks to carotenoids. Carotenoids are found in orange coloured fruits and vegetables and are a great source of Vitamin A.
I was honoured to have helped prepare food for last Saturday’s Branches of Native Development volunteer appreciation dinner in Hamilton. One stand out response to the meal was how much people loved the carrots. I take great pride in my vegetable cookery so to hear so much excitement over a vegetable made me very happy.
More than person asked me for the recipe to cook the carrots at home. My response to them was there is no recipe, it was the technique used to cook them. The best part of the “appeeling” carrots at the appreciation dinner is that the amazing volunteers cooked them with only a few simple instructions. I didn’t touch a single one.
Here is how they made them so delicious.
Stove Roasted Carrots
- Carrots
- Unsalted Butter
- Salt
- Sage
- Peel and cut the carrots however you like. Keep in mind the bigger they are the longer they will need to be cooked for. I recommend cutting the carrot in half where it starts to get bigger. Cut the thinner half in rounds and cut the thicker half in half moons.
- Use a pan with a large surface area. Heat on medium high heat, add enough butter to cover the bottom of the pan, heat until it starts foaming. Add carrots, do not crowd the pan, add sage and salt. Do not burn the butter. Let sit until the carrots start caramelizing. Adjust the heat to medium to low and let the carrots cook through turning periodically. Some prefer carrots with a bit of crunch, others like them softer. You may need to add more butter as they cook.
- If there is any butter left in pan, save it to enrich a sauce or a vinaigrette.
Enjoy.
