Local carrots are becoming larger by the week -- now baby carrot sized, bunch carrots in a week or two, and much later in the season they’ll be gigantic! Last week I was still working with not-so-local carrots in a big bag left by my restaurant’s vegetable guy. I had a head scratching moment when I read where the carrots came from -- on the very bottom of the 50 lb bag it read “product of Israel.” The flavor -- or what was left in these elephant carrots that had been shipped ages ago from across an ocean – was like a freshly sharpened pencil. Comparing these big boys to the locally harvested little carrots dug a few hours or days ago from fertile close-by Hudson Valley soil … well they are not even relatives. In a recent conversation with some farmers I learned that the Hudson Valley has amazing terroir because of prehistoric lava eruptions creating an ideal environment for growing root vegetables.
(carrot tops)
Have you ever traveled to Hawaii and eaten a pineapple from South America? Or look in local grocery stores here in NY – the apple state – and you’ll often find Washington apples. In the food world things are not always what they appear to be – carrots apparently often come from far away and I’m eager to find out why they have to travel all those miles to come to a consumer like me. In the meantime let’s cook them.
(fresh bunch carrots)
Spiced Carrots
(recipe yields four portions)
10 bunch carrots
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/8 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 pinches of cayenne
2 bay leaf
1 teaspoon sea salt
black pepper grindings, to taste
2 tablespoons parsley, thinly sliced
1. Preheat the oven to 380 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Peel carrots then cut green tops off
3. Combine carrots and spices in a deep heat-proof dish then add 1 cup of water. Cover dish with aluminum foil tightly
4. Cook carrots in hot oven for two hours or until carrots are soft then add parsley.
Chef’s note: serve carrots whole or cut in mouth-sized pieces
Serving Suggestions: serve the above carrots with saucy dishes such as braised beef
