20.3.10

Carrots

I meant to do a post about Lenten chickpeas and spinach soups, but you know what? The lovely Deb was just before me, with this version of the Spanish classic. You can try my slapdash method or her more beautiful one, but do try it because it´s sooo good.
As for me, I´ll just reflect on shapes and sizes. Isn´t it odd that things taste different if they´re cut different? I hate carrots cut in coins. They remind me of the flabby, overcooked, tasteless stuff I refused as a child. If I´m having them sauteed or roasted or plain steamed, or they are to go into a stew, it has to be thick batons. I grate them for salads, or make long slivers with the peeler, and these are the shapes I like in a stirfry. For soups I favour the small cube, or the very small cube for my baby. And if I´m in a tearing hurry, I grate it with a microplane so it cooks in her soup truly fast. Long sticks are my favourite snack (never mind that they´re healthy, I just love them).
Here´s a quick side dish preparation for carrots:
Take a couple of carrots cut in thick batons, and put them in a small non stick frying pan with water to come half way up (this is very little water) and a small piece of butter, the size of a hazelnut, no more. Salt, fire it up and get on with the rest of dinner. When it comes to boil, cover it and let them steam. In a few minutes they´ll be quite soft, and the liquid should have evaporated, but if it hasn´t, take the cover off and let it bubble up.
Sometimes I add french green beans too, straight from the freezer, and they cook at the same time.

7 comentarios:

AML dijo...

Awesome post. I have a book in my kitchen I have illustrated for all of my cooks to know how I want all vegetables cut and cooked depending on the application. They all think i am crazy, I think it makes perfect sense. Mine actually looks very similar to this illustration. Very cool.

Eva dijo...

Ximena, this is just a note to say that I just discovered your blog and....no wonder you made it to that Forbes list!!!I'm totally in love with your illustrations (when I started my blog, recently, I wanted an illustration for the title, I knew exactly what I wanted and the type of drawing, JUST LIKE ALL YOURS!obviously I couldn't find anything, so had to settle down for a photo instead!). I'm sooo jealous :-) (in a good sense)of that talent!And I love your simple and honest recipes...I'll start with the pimientos rellenos de arroz y carne!they're much better than the usual recipe where the peppers look almost raw, cooked in a layer of water with no roasted flavour!Thank you for sharing!

Raquel dijo...

Qué cosas ... yo tampoco las como en rodajas.

Pille dijo...

Hey, I've had those 'pimientos rellenos de arroz y carne', cooked by your very Escolastica!!

I haven't got the same shape thing with carrots, funny enough. Can eat them in coins, cubes, slices, sticks. When snacking, I simply peel them and then munch my way through the whole thing :)

Tamara dijo...

I totally agree with the carrots cut into coins, they just taste so wrong. It's like drinking tea from a plastic mug.

Blanca dijo...

Hate carrots with coin shape!! at lasT I found someone with the same hate for them

Liana dijo...

Ximena, ¡que alegro encontrarte por la receta de espinacas con garbanzos en 'smitten kitchen'! Me gusta tu dibujo de las zanahorias...te vendes tus dibujos? los tienes en español?

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