Minted carrots
I’d always wanted to make these, but I don’t have fresh mint on hand all that often, and the original recipe wants you to fry the carrots, and I wasn’t willing to do all that frying. I’ve got this recipe in The Antipasto Table, a book from 1991, and in La Cucina, a kind of Italian cooking encyclopedia. By happy coincidence, I had mint and carrots to use up this week, and I got the inspiration to roast the carrots, instead of frying. Here’s the improved, easy recipe.
- 2 pounds carrots, about 9 – 10 large carrots, peeled and cut into diagonal slices about 1/4 – 1/2 inch thick
- 2 TBLS olive or vegetable oil
- 3 TBLS red wine vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic (one small clove)
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
- coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Toss the carrots and oil together in a large bowl, and the spread on a baking sheet – you can line it with parchment or foil for easy clean up. Roast the carrots until soft, and a few have brown edges, 15 – 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool a bit until they’re easier to handle. Scrape the carrots back into the bowl, and add the vinegar, garlic, mint, and salt & pepper to taste, and toss well. Chill overnight in a covered container, and eat the next day. Bring to room temperature before eating, if you can bear to wait.
