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Slow-cooked Carrots (Carote di Bianca)

Lisa

 

 

An amazing recipe for slow-cooked carrots!

Bianca is my mother-in-law, who I’ve mentioned quite a few times before in various posts.  Every so often she makes these wonderful carrots as a side dish…….I have to admit that it doesn’t happen that often as they take a long time to make and a lot of patience, but they are SO good made like this, that you forget all that work immediately and vow you’re going to make them every week!  I haven’t eaten carrots made exactly like this anywhere else, which is why I’ve titled the recipe Carote di Bianca!

 

 

Get ready to do a lot of slicing

The daunting part of the recipe is the slicing of the carrots.  As the final product loses about half its weight, you start off with a huge amount of raw material and end up with…..well, not so much!  When I made this, I used 1 kg (2.2 lb) of carrots and got just over 500 g (1.1 lb)  worth when they had finished cooking. I imagine that this is because the carrots lose a large amount of water as they’re being cooked. If not…..(WATCH OUT!! NERD ALERT!!!! Skip to the next paragraph if you don’t want to be sucked into the physics vortex!)……this could be one to make the first scientist to demonstrate the Law of Conservation of Mass, Antoine Lavoisier, turn over in his grave.

 

 

Hints for making slow-cooked carrots
Now, unlike me (hands up anyone who wants to buy me a present), if you have a nice chopping machine, or a mandolin (no, not the instrument) that gives you good thick slices of carrots, the time used for slicing them, and the pain in your hand, can be lessened considerably.  the carrots should be about 1 cm thick.  If they are cut too thin, then will turn to mush as they cook. After that, the recipe is easy!
The long cooking time concentrates the sweetness of the carrots, and the final browning caramelizes them a little, so don’t skimp on the time needed.  They make a fabulous side for any type of meat.
One very important note: Make WAY more than you think you’ll need as they will be eaten faster than you can say, “Can you pass the carrots please”, and then you won’t get any, and that wouldn’t be a good thing now, would it?
Go on and make them.  I promise it’ll be worth it!
by Lisa Watson
baked carrotsbaked carrots
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Slow-cooked carrots

This Italian recipe for slow-cooked carrots makes them wonderfully sweet.  It's a side you'll make over and over again!
Course Side Dish
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 45 minutes
Servings 4 people

Ingredients

  • 1 kg 2.2 lbs Carrots
  • 2 sprigs Rosemary
  • 1 clove Garlic
  • 8 Tbsp Olive oil
  • Water

Instructions

  • Chop the carrots into rounds that are no more about 1 cm (1/3 inch) thick....... not too thick and not too thin (now, don't you feel like Goldilocks!).  If you have a mandolin or food processor that does this for you, use it!
  • Heat the oil in a large frying pan.
  • Add the whole clove of garlic and the whole rosemary sprigs. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
  • Add the carrots. Sauté them on medium-high heat for 5 minutes, stirring often.
  • Add water to cover the carrots.  Wait until it is simmering, and then turn the heat down to medium.
  • Continue to cook the carrots for approximately 1 hour, gently stirring occasionally.  If the water boils off too quickly, add more.  You should be left with a bit of water in the bottom of the pan at the end of the hour.
  • Turn the heat up to medium-high again and cook for 20 -25 minutes, until the water has boiled off and the carrots are becoming browned.  Stir often, otherwise the carrots will burn, but stir gently, otherwise they will break apart.
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