Tag: carrot

Carrots roasted with pomegranate molasses and harissa

We live on a small island, and although our local shops generally do very well for range and price of stock, some ingredients are hard to come by. I have some rather exotic recipe books, and so I have become better at substituting and messing around with recipes to make them fit. 

Pomegranate molasses adds a fruity sharpness to the dish, and helps the dressing to stick to the carrots. The harissa is hot and fragrant at the same time. 

This time, I had some random carrots, so I turned to Ottolenghi’s book, Simple, and adapted one of his ideas, and I made this. I served it with bread, cheese, and an aubergine dish. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp honey
  • 1 tbsp rose harissa (or ordinary harissa)
  • 1 tbsp olive oil (or 50/50 melted butter and oil)
  • 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
  • 400g carrot batons
  • salt
  • Coriander leaves to garnish

METHOD:

  • Heat the oven to 220C
  • In a small bowl, mix the cumin, honey, harissa, oil and molasses with a good pinch of salt. It should be the consistency of mayonnaise. 
  • Add the carrot batons, and stir to coat in the mixture
  • Line a baking sheet with tin foil, and spread out the carrots. Roast them for 15 minutes or so, until they are beginning to brown but still have some ‘bite’ to them.

Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with coriander leaves. 

Carrot and cumin salad

This is a classic going way way back to university. It is great with middle eastern meals. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 or 3 large carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
  • 1 tablespoon of cumin seeds
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • A drizzle of olive oil
  • Salt and pepper

METHOD:

  • Toast the cumin seeds in a small pan for a minute or two, and then lightly crush
  • Mix the carrots and cumin seed, season with salt and pepper
  • Just before serving, mix in the lemon juice and olive oil

Carrot and coriander soup with chilli and cumin

Last weekend, a friend and I dug up the last of last year’s carrots, where they had overwintered in the ground. I froze some and I also made this soup. I kind of made it up as I went along, using some ingredients that I already had.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 red onion, chopped
  • 1 red chilli pepper, finely chopped
  • olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 400g approx chopped carrots
  • 500ml vegetable stock (or other stock)
  • 150ml sour cream
  • Juice of half a lime
  • salt and pepper
  • A handful of fresh coriander leaves
  • A pinch of chipotle smoked pepper (from Seasoned Pioneers)

METHOD:

  • In a saucepan, fry the chilli and the onion slowly in the olive oil, until the onion is softening.
  • Add the cumin and the carrots, and cook for another five minutes or so.
  • Add the stock, and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
  • Take of the heat, and add the sour cream, lime juice, salt, pepper, chipotle pepper and coriander leaves.
  • Use a soup wand to make a smooth creamy soup. Add a bit of stock or water if the soup is too thick.

Serve with brown toast.

Crecy Soup

This is one of my stand-by recipes, a lovely buttery soup. The type of rice used can be varied, and I have made up the weight of carrots with other root vegetables in the past. The stock can also be varied, as can the garnish. The thyme is an important flavour though, don’t mess with the thyme. Very flexible.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 75g butter
  • 250g carrots, peeled and sliced
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • salt and pepper
  • 25g rice
  • 1 sprig of thyme
  • 700ml stock (vegetable, chicken or beef)
  • Garnish, could be chopped chives, parsley, chervil etc.

METHOD:

  • In a saucepan, melt 50g of the butter, and add the onion and carrots and a pinch of salt and pepper. Put the lid on the pan, and cook very gently for 10 minutes or so.
  • Add the rice, thyme and stock, and bring to the boil. Simmer for 30 minutes.
  • Remove the thyme sprig and puree the soup. Reheat, check the seasoning, and whisk the last of the butter into the soup.
  • Garnish with chopped herbs, and serve with croutons