I love foodblogging. Just when you're trying to come up with plans for dinner (not that it's a problem with all my cookbooks and food magazines and ever-expanding dishes-to-do-list, but still) , a recipe 'jumps' at you from a friendly foodblog while you're browsing your Bloglines alerts. That's exactly what happened to me yesterday lunch-time with Alanna's recipe for carrots with African spices. Funnily enough, it's not the first time carrot recipes 'come to me' from Alanna - she also reminded me of Kalyn's roasted carrots with mushrooms that has become one of my favourite carrot dishes..
I stocked up on carrots on the way home, and just half an hour after getting to our casa, K. and I enjoyed a wonderful meal you can see below. I used lime juice and fresh parsley, and added a spoonful of honey to the carrots for extra sweetness and a hint of glaze. Wonderfully fragrant and delicious! No leftovers whatsoever..
Alanna's carrots with African spices, my way
(Vürtsikad porgandid)
Very slightly adapted from Alanna's wonderful blog A Veggie Venture.
Serves 2 as a vegetarian main dish, more as a side dish.
1 Tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tsp Hungarian sweet paprika powder
1 tsp cumin seeds, slightly crushed
1 tsp coriander seeds, slightly crushed
300 ml water
500 grams carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
1 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp honey
salt to taste
a handful of fresh parsley or coriander/cilantro, chopped
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, add the spices and garlic, stir for about a minute, until the spices are all aromatic.
Add the water and bring to the boil.
Add the carrots, season with salt and lime juice. Simmer gently for about 20 minutes (I like my carrots al dente - you may want to simmer them longer, like Alanna does), adding a spoonful of honey half-ways.
Once the carrots are your preferred consistency, then season, sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve, spooning any remaining liquid on top (the boiling water has been infused with spices, honey and carrot juices - you don't want to waste that!)
Other carrot dishes at Nami-nami:
Kalyn's roasted carrots with mushrooms (April 2006)
Moroccan carrot salad (December 2005)
Gingered carrots with feta cheese (November 2005)
Carrots with rosemary & orange (August 2005)
8 comments:
We're on the same carrot wavelength. I also saved Alanna's recipe to try!
Scott - it's quite down-to-earth recipe indeed, and very tasty one at that.
Kalyn - you're both a good source of brilliant veggie recipes- thanks!
I can see why you had to try it - looks wonderful!
I'm happy to be switching to carrots and rutabagas (swedes) from green beans and courgette. (And I'll just as happily switch back next summer)
Haven't bought carrots in a while...thanks for passing on the inspiration :)
Btw, so excited that you are hosting WHB...do nuts count? :)
Maybe my eyes are trying to tell me something but I'm craving carrots lately and finding them on our table most every day! This are excellent and I'll be having them again soon.
I love Alanna's side dishes recipes. Her carrots in particular. Beautiful version of hers!
Pille--These carrots sound delicious! I'm wondering if perhaps sautéing the carrots along with the spices for a few minutes over medium-low heat before adding the water might further impart the spice flavors to the carrots and also bring out more of the carrots' natural sweetness.
Katie – it tasted delicious indeed. We’ve made this dish quite a few times over the year. I don’t always add lime/lemon nor honey any more – it depends on the sweetness of carrots and on my mood :)
Joey – well, it’s autumn now, so time for carrots again! And of course nuts count, especially exciting ones like pili!
Tanna - we often have carrot sticks on the table for snacking – in addition to various dishes were carrots are playing a star role.
Tartelette – yes, Alanna is a great source of side dish recipes!
Terry B – that might indeed be the case. I’ll try that next time. (However – I’ve been using organic carrots from the market or K’s mum’s garden, and these have plenty of excellent flavour on their own, so shine even without initial sautéing).
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