A huge thank you to Beth Fish Reads
for steering me towards Ingredienti. This is a jewel of a book jam packed with
ideas – all based on an Italian approach to ingredients.
It is not a recipe book as such but armed with her
comments about ingredients you will be inspired to make many dishes yourself.
The first experiment I conducted as a result of reading
this book was with carrots. The results were not particularly memorable but
I think this was because I used baby carrots and cut them too thin. So I will be trying this again.
All you do is slice the carrots into rounds (try for an
even ¼ inch width). Braise the carrots
slowly in butter with a tablespoon of water added from time to time as
needed. The key is to cook them a long
time on a low heat. You don't turn the
carrots over at all. When the carrots
have wrinkled a bit and are a dark colour they are ready.
Next time, sprinkle over a few tablespoons of sugar once the butter has melted and cook on a high heat - you will end up with the most beautiful, sweet caramelised carrots you've ever tasted :)
ReplyDeleteI think I worry with my stove the heat will be so high that the carrots would burn. I have the glass top and let me tell you, once it gets high it's hard to regulate the heat. I will try it though and I not use the baby carrots.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip.
"Baby carrots" are kind of a con job by industrial agriculture -- if you read the label it actually says "baby CUT carrots" which means they put full-size carrots through some kind of industrial lathe to make them that size & shape. These aren't nearly as fresh as carrots you peel and shape yourself!
ReplyDeleteMy first Marcella Hazan cookbook is still pretty new -- I too find her an intriguing recipe source.
best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com
The book sounds interesting. Very simple cooking.
ReplyDeleteOh I have to try those carrots! Ingredienti gave me a bunch of ideas.
ReplyDeleteI must find this book, Beth Fish Reads knows all the best ones.
ReplyDeleteI have never been a fan of cooked carrots (although I like raw... go figure). This recipe sounds like one I might enjoy. Thanks for sharing!
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