Carrots with Paprika and Cumin
Simple Recipes Fasting Recipes Budget Recipes Side Dishes Vegetables
I don't know why carrots have always been just passing through my kitchen. I think they're the only vegetable that shrivels up forgotten in my pantry. A few slices in soups or stews, a few grated strips here and there - that's about it for their use. When I remember I haven't eaten carrots in a while, I make a cream soup or a salad. They're like actors forever in supporting roles, and it's strange because they're among the few vegetables (along with cauliflower and red beets) that I appreciate cooked in the simplest way possible: boiled with a little salt. I adore carrots boiled in soup - I reserve them all for myself.
One of my New Year's resolutions was to cook carrots more often and more interestingly, to give them the lead role from time to time. You've already seen new carrots with tarragon and couscous salad with chickpeas and roasted carrots. Now I can't wait for peas to appear, to put them together with lots of carrots in this amazing soup.
Today's recipe is more suitable for mature carrots and is inspired by the way my grandmother prepares the ones taken out of chicken soup: she briefly sautés them in oil always flavored with paprika and something extra. From a single chicken, she manages to make two dishes. She boils the chicken, strains the soup and cooks homemade noodles in it, while the carrots and boiled meat are prepared much like I did with the carrots now. Only she doesn't add parsley, but look how beautiful the green looks against the orange!
I hope you'll give me lots of new carrot ideas - I heard that if I eat many, my hair turns reddish and my skin gets a natural tan 😉
Ingredients
500g mature carrots
1 garlic clove
1 level teaspoon sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon cumin, finely crushed
1 teaspoon butter (optional)
1/4 bunch parsley
2 tablespoons oil
salt, black pepper
Servings: 2-3
How to prepare carrots with paprika and cumin
- Boil the carrots (in meat broth, salted water, or steam) - it's important that they're well cooked, don't leave them al dente in the middle at all.
- In a wider pot/pan, heat the oil and add the crushed garlic. Keep on low heat until the oil absorbs the garlic's aroma, without letting it brown.
- Remove the pot from heat and add the paprika and cumin. Stir quickly to dissolve the spices in the oil.
* If you don't like cumin or get tired of it, you can use coriander seeds instead - Add the drained carrots, but not too well drained - let some water remain on them. Sprinkle with salt and grind black pepper on top. Put the pot back on heat and stir gently (so you don't break the carrots) until they're coated with spices and the contents start to simmer again. If desired (especially if the carrots weren't boiled in broth), you can add the butter now.
- Remove the pot from heat and add finely chopped parsley. Stir gently. They're good warm or at room temperature (if you didn't add butter).
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