Caramelized Carrot Bars

How to prepare caramelized carrot bars

1. Grate the carrots (I used this food processor, the orange cone). Put them in a wide pot (about 25 cm diameter) and cover with 300ml water, sugar, grated ginger, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and zest from 1/2 lemon. Mix and leave on low heat until the sugar is completely dissolved. You'll have enough liquid for the carrots to sit comfortably in it, without being completely covered.
   * you can also use other flavors: vanilla, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, Chinese five spice
2. Turn the heat to medium-low and simmer everything uncovered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. After this time, taste the carrots and if they're cooked, continue simmering uncovered. If the carrots still feel a bit crunchy (this depends on the grater used), put the lid on and continue cooking covered. Check the carrots occasionally and when they feel cooked (but not mushy), you can remove the lid (I cooked them 20 minutes covered, stirring a few times).
4. After you remove the lid, continue cooking until the liquid evaporates completely. After about 5 minutes, my carrots had no more liquid. From that moment, continue cooking but stirring frequently for another 15 minutes. Towards the end, in the last 5 minutes, the carrots will become glossy, sticky, harder to stir, and that's when you know they're almost done. You'll smell a pleasant caramel aroma and the bottom of the pot will be covered with a sticky layer. The carrots will have an intense orange color, looking slightly translucent.
5. Do the final test: take carrots between your fingers (blow a little so you don't burn yourself) and squeeze them between your thumb and index finger. When you separate your fingers, they should all stick to one of your fingers. This means they're done. If not, continue caramelizing until they pass the test. If towards the end you feel there's a risk of burning, turn the heat to low and continue stirring.
7. Mix in the lightly toasted pistachios (at 170°C for 5 minutes). If using larger nuts (like walnuts or almonds), chop them with a knife into smaller pieces.
8. Put the carrots in an oiled pan (or lined with parchment paper). Level them well into a layer approximately 1 cm thick. The easiest way to level is to place plastic wrap on top and press with your palm.
9. Let cool completely. Cut to whatever size you want and roll the pieces in shredded coconut.
   * another option is to let the mixture cool a bit and shape balls which you roll in shredded coconut.
10. Store covered for up to 1 week.

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