Clever Ways to Cook Carrots

Easy Roasted Root Vegetables

Easy Roasted Root Vegetables can be served as a salad topper or a side dish.

Greg DuPree; food stylist: Margaret Dickey; prop stylist: Julia Bayless

“Rainbow carrots and beets brushed with balsamic vinegar and maple syrup, then roasted until caramelized, are perfect as a side dish or atop salad greens.” —Connie Edwards McGaughy, creator of The Carrot Underground and author of The Carrot Underground cookbooks

Serves 6

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

4 large beets, red and golden — washed, peeled and cut into bite-size wedges

6 large carrots, rainbow variety or regular — washed, peeled and cut into ½-inch rounds

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

½ teaspoon coarse salt

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons maple syrup

Directions

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Line 2 baking pans with parchment paper, or lightly grease surface of pans.

Arrange beets on one pan in a single layer. Do the same with carrots on a separate pan. Brush beets and carrots lightly with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt. Place beets in oven for 20 to 30 minutes until just tender. Place carrots in oven for 15 minutes until just tender.

After they are lightly browned, combine balsamic vinegar and maple syrup in a small bowl and brush carrots and beets with vinegar-and-syrup mix. Place both pans back into the oven for an additional 10 minutes, allowing the vinegar-syrup mix to caramelize. Remove vegetables from the oven. Serve and enjoy.

Notes: In addition to serving them as a side dish, you can serve roasted root veggies on a bed of vibrant salad greens topped with your choice of dressing. To prepare these veggies without oil, steam carrots for 3 to 5 minutes prior to roasting, just until they are slightly tender. Then follow the recipe directions, simply omitting adding the oil.

Carrot Spiral Bowls With Garlic Parmesan Chicken

Carrot Spiral Rolls with Garlic Parmesan Chicken is a quick and easy weeknight meal.

Greg DuPree; food stylist: Margaret Dickey; prop stylist: Julia Bayless

“I love weeknight meals that are comforting, nourishing and quick to prepare. Precut carrot spirals make a great base when you want to switch things up from grains or pasta.” —Dianna Muscari, creator of The Kitchen Prep blog

Serves 2

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 teaspoons Italian seasoning blend

Salt to taste (if seasoning doesn’t contain salt)

1 (12-ounce) package of carrot spirals

2 garlic cloves, grated or minced

3 tablespoons chopped, fresh parsley (plus fresh parsley springs to garnish, if desired)

⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese (plus Parmesan cheese to garnish, if desired)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large oven-safe nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.

Season chicken breasts on both sides, then add to hot pan. Cook 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until completely cooked through, about 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the chicken breasts.

Meanwhile, cook the carrot spirals according to package directions, drain and keep warm.

When the chicken is cooked through, remove from the skillet and set aside. Cover to keep warm.

Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and garlic to the pan and sauté over medium heat until fragrant, about 1 minute. Turn off the heat.

Add warm carrot spirals, parsley and Parmesan, tossing together gently until well combined.

When ready to serve, place on serving plate, and top each serving with a cooked chicken breast, sliced if desired. Sprinkle with extra Parmesan and parsley to garnish.

Carrot Halwa Pistachio Baklava

Carrot Halwa Pistachio Baklava puts an Indian-Turkish fusion spin on dessert.

Greg DuPree; food stylist: Margaret Dickey; prop stylist: Julia Bayless

“Halwa is a traditional Indian pudding made with milk, sugar and special ingredients like fruits, vegetables or lentils. It’s served at festivals, weddings and celebrations. Adding carrot and pistachio makes for a creative Indian-Turkish fusion twist on this classic. It’s great for weekend baking.” — Priya Lakshminarayan, creator of Cookilicious and author of The Essential Vegan Indian Cookbook

Serves 10; 2 per serving

Prep time: About 15 minutes

Cook time: About 1 hour, 30 minutes

Ingredients

For khoya (a dried, evaporated milk solid often used in sweet Indian desserts):

1 cup milk powder (aka dry milk)

¼ cup milk

1 tablespoon ghee

For carrot halwa:

5 cups grated fresh carrots

3 tablespoons ghee

1 cup whole milk

¼ teaspoon cardamom powder

¾ cup sugar

1 cup crumbled khoya

2 tablespoons mixed chopped nuts

1 teaspoon saffron, for garnish

2 tablespoons pistachios, for garnish

2 tablespoons sliced almonds, for garnish

For baklava:

1 (16-ounce) package of phyllo sheet dough

⅓ cup chopped walnuts

⅓ cup sliced almonds

2 tablespoons chopped pistachios

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ cup melted butter

½ cup milk

For sugar syrup:

1 cup water

½ cup sugar

3 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons chopped pistachios

1 tablespoon rosewater, optional

1 tablespoon lemon juice, optional

For garnish:

Chopped pistachios and organic culinary dried rose petals (available online or at ethnic groceries), as desired

Directions

This Indian-Turkish fusion recipe combines four traditional elements. Each is simple to prepare.

To make khoya: Add milk powder to a bowl and set aside. Add milk to a pan along with ghee. Whisk it together and bring it to a boil over medium heat. Pour this hot milk over the milk powder and mix until the mixture becomes thick. It will become crumblier as it cools. Set khoya aside. (You can also use this in any other recipe that calls for khoya.)

To make carrot halwa: Place carrots in a microwave-safe bowl along with ghee, milk and cardamom powder. Microwave on high for 15 minutes. Keep stirring every 5 minutes. Add sugar and microwave on high for another 3 minutes. Again, keep stirring at regular intervals. Add the crumbled khoya to the bowl. Mix well and continue to microwave on high for another 10 minutes. The carrots should have softened by now and come together like a pudding. Garnish with saffron, pistachios and almonds. Carrot halwa is ready. Allow it to cool down completely, then place it in the refrigerator until it’s time to use it to make baklava.

To make baklava: Thaw the phyllo sheet dough to room temperature before you start to make the baklava. Make the baklava once the dough has thawed. To a bowl, add the walnuts, almonds and pistachios. Add cloves and cinnamon to the bowl. Mix all the ingredients together and set them aside.

Grease an 8-by-10-inch oven-safe casserole with butter.

Place two phyllo sheets at the bottom of the prepared dish (allowing the edges to extend up the sides of the dish, as needed). Keep the remaining phyllo sheets covered with a damp kitchen towel and work fast. Brush the two sheets generously with butter.

Layer with carrot halwa. Spread it evenly, but do not press it down or overcrowd. Sprinkle part of the prepared nuts evenly over the surface.

Now place two more phyllo sheets over this layer and add a layer of the halwa and nuts. Repeat this until all ingredients are used. Use six sheets of phyllo for the final layer and brush them with butter and milk.

The baklava should be cut before you bake it, and cut again after baking to be sure all the pieces are separated. Use a sharp knife to diagonally cut baklava all the way through to the bottom of the dish. To do this, make three evenly-spaced vertical cuts (top to bottom) across the length of the pan. Rotate the pan 90 degrees. Make five evenly-spaced diagonal cuts across the width of the pan. You will end up with diamond-shaped servings of a few bites each. Sizes of pieces will vary.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Bake for 60 minutes or until golden brown and crisp.

Remove the baklava from the oven and allow it to cool for a couple of minutes. Recut along the same lines using a sharp knife. Set aside at room temperature while you make the sugar syrup.

To make sugar syrup: Add water and sugar to a pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Once it thickens a bit, add vanilla extract and honey. This should take 8 to 10 minutes over medium heat. Mix well, then remove mixture from heat. If desired, add rosewater and lemon juice after removing the pan from heat. Mix again.

Let the syrup cool slightly. Then pour the syrup over the freshly baked baklava. When sugar syrup is poured over hot baklava, it should sizzle.

Garnish with chopped pistachios and edible rose petals. Serve and enjoy.

Notes: Serve baklava at room temperature or slightly warm. If you have made it ahead of time, reheat it in the microwave for 10 to 15 seconds. It’s normally served with tea.