Carrots

[Eboli]

As a result of self-isolating and having a regular box of veg delivered I have built up a surplus of carrots. I have tried to be inventive and source new recipes, the most successful so far being carrot bhajis using some gram flour that I needed to use anyway. But despite having lots of roasted carrot soup, carrot hummus, bhajis and so forth I still need to use a few more. Any suggestions for uses for this humble root?

Eb.

[UncleEbenezer]

Incredibly versatile veg. I'm sure you don't need anyone here to tell you of eating them raw, or in classic-sunday-lunch form (with or without the enhancements that can make them more appetising than trad. meat-and-two-veg style). You say soup, but why roasted? They go well with all kinds of other ingredients: for example, other roots, or lentils, in a creamed soup.

Another major use is in drinks. If you have a juicer, carrots are one of the two great mixers for more-or-less anything (the other being apples). So for example apple-pear-ginger may be a familiar classic, but carrot-pear-ginger works just as well. Use as a base for drinks featuring all the seasonal goodies over the summer and autumn season (strawberries are already with us). Oh, and the other essential ingredient, ice.

Oh, and btw, I like the bhaji idea: must try it sometime. Do you have some more good ideas you might share?

[dealtn]

Get a horse.

[bungeejumper]

Guilt-free snacking in the late afternoon, raw of course. If cooked, best in a steamer, and only lightly. Try them buttered with a bit of black pepper. Why make things more complicated?

BJ

[kempiejon]

Coleslaw, I make a big tub most weeks, caraway seeds my fairly recent addition. Sometime I make with it yogurt and mustard rather than mayonnaise, You say bhaji, I say fritters - grated carrot, flour, egg and whatever spices work for you shallow fried. We don't make soups but I do loads of roasted carrots, a whole tray at Sunday lunch and keep as snacking in a tub in the fridge.

[PinkDalek]

Get a horse.

The OP may not be carnivorous.

[Loup321]

When I was little, I remember my mum bought a sack of carrots just before Christmas one year, for about 50p. Yes, a whole sack, and although I don't remember the amount it was stupidly cheap. 5.00ish on the last shopping day before Christmas, and the guy wanted to go home. Anyway, she found a recipe for carrot halwa somewhere. Sorry, I don't have her recipe books, and I wouldn't be able to find it online. It had lots of sugar and condensed milk, and she made these little balls of this bright orange very yummy very sticky sweet. About two the size of marbles in a petit four case. Well, we still had loads of carrots a few weeks later, and late January was my joint birthday party with my younger sister, which featured huge amounts of carrot halwa, and lots of happy kids running around and bouncing off the walls. I've never made it myself, and my mum never bought another sack of carrots that big.

That's what you do with carrots. And thanks for bringing back that 35 year old memory for me.

[Loup321]

I did a quick google search, and this might work. https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/carrot-halwa-recipe-gajar-ka-halwa-recipe/ Certainly sounds similar to what I remember, and I forgot to include the cardomom flavour in my last post.

[bungeejumper]

When I was little, I remember my mum bought a sack of carrots just before Christmas one year, for about 50p. Yes, a whole sack, and although I don't remember the amount it was stupidly cheap. 5.00ish on the last shopping day before Christmas, and the guy wanted to go home.

That sounds like a fair proxy for my first ever bargain-hunting expedition, in 1971 Berlin, where I was learning to cook for the very first time.

I was flat broke, but I was also keen to learn. So I snapped up an opportunity to purchase an entire kilo of chillis that were going stupidly cheap. I took it home and naively bit an inch or so off the end of one. Some time later, when I had stopped bouncing off the ceiling and screaming, I considered the possibility of turning the chillis into paint stripper, or rocket fuel, or maybe just an ordinary run-of-the-mill chemical weapon. I never did find a recipe for my bargain bulk purchase.

BJ

[Eboli]

Dear All

Many thanks for the replies.

Fact is stranger than fiction sometimes! PinkDalek may care to note that this OP had a Belgian mother and therefore was acquainted with horse meat steaks at a young age in Brussels (I haven't eaten horse in decades) though I do remember it was somewhat sweet and rather tasty.

I've played about with the bhaji idea. For UncleEbenezer, the version I've been using is as follows (though kemplejon's fritters seem simpler, though his has egg):

3 medium carrots (about 300 gms) cut into julienne strips - easy if you have an attachment for your processor + 2 more for the pickle (optional)
About 1/2 a medium red onion thinly sliced
Add some spices (I find about 1tsp of curry powder, 1tsp paprika; 1/2 tsp fennel seeds; 1/2 tsp turmeric - but this is up to you) plus salt and pepper
Let all of the above rest after mixing so some of the juices come out. Then add about 50ml of water.
Then add: 1/2 tbsp flaxseed and any soft herbs you have surplus (I've used coriander/parsley/mint/basil in various quantities) and some gram flour (about 2 tbsp but it varies according to the mixture - you want it thick but gloopy if that makes sense).

You can deep fry or shallow fry tablespoon of the mixture but I prefer to put spoons of the mixture on baking parchment (the above makes about 8) and bake at 200 C for 20 minutes and then turn over and bake for another 15 mins. If you've got extra julienne carrot, then pickle it in a quick pickle mixture (I find the 15 minutes shop bought variety absolutely fine for this) and top the bhajis with it for a bit more crunch).

Thanks to Loup321 for the halwa idea. I have tried this but wasn't that keen. Perhaps I just prefer savoury over sweet food.

I do make the coleslaw suggested by kemplejon but I'm out of cabbage (temporarily). I agree that yoghurt works nicely here and lots of lemon.

Eb.

[johnstevens77]

I love carrot halwa, got the condensed milk in for a batch this week.

john

[servodude]

I put grated carrot in a lot of things
- anything with mince (bolognaise sauce, taco fillings, etc)
- with grated potato in a rosti

and big chunks in just about everything I slow cook
- sd

[vrdiver]

Perhaps I just prefer savoury over sweet food.

In which case you might like Ajlouke de Carottes:
A Tunisian appetiser, served cold with bread -

Serves 6
750g carrots
500g potatoes
salt
2 garlic cloves (chopped)
4 teaspoons cumin (can be left whole, or lightly toasted and crushed)
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons wine vinegar
large pinch cayenne pepper

Peel the carrots and potatoes (or leave potatoes unpeeled if using new potatoes) and cut them (carrots and potatoes) into similar sized pieces. Put them in a pan with the salt, garlic and cover with water, boil until soft. Drain, mash, then stir in the rest of the ingredients. Allow to cool before serving.

Traditionally served as a smooth mash, we prefer it with a bit more texture (i.e. lumpy!)

VRD