Donna van Veghel-Wood graduated from the two year Culinary Arts Programme at George Brown College including three month Italian Culinary Arts programme in Italy. Worked for five and half years at "JK ROM" Restaurant and Catering company with Jamie Kennedy. Started and ran "donna&co." catering company for five years. Presently, owner of "frankie's ristorante" in Uxbridge.
Previous
Viva the versatile carrot
…..red and yellow and purple and orange and white! These could be the lyrics to a song describing Joseph's coat, but they are also words to describe Ontario carrots. Yes, carrots in Technicolor. Carrots of different colour are not new. The orange carrot that we know best is actually the most modern.
It is believed that carrots have been around as a food since before the time of Christ. It is related to Queen Anne's lace, a weed that covers Ontario's countryside every August. Thus, easily grown in Ontario and most of Canada, carrots are available year round and make eating local - simple.
Carrots are abundant in beta-carotene that converts to Vitamin A in our bodies. The fibre in carrots is soluble which helps reduce blood cholesterol levels and reduce heart disease risk. And if you remember from your childhood when your mother told you to eat your carrots so you could see better, well, she was right. Vitamin A helps prevent night blindness and may help with the risk of cataracts.
Eaten raw on a vegetable platter with dips or julienned in a salad, this is an easy to use vegetable that is very versatile.
Carrots can also be cut into sticks or chunks and tossed with olive oil and salt and pepper. Roast in a 375 F. oven until tender and serve as a side for dinner. They can also be sliced and then boiled and sautéed in butter and maple syrup or mashed as you would potatoes.
Carrots can be added to almost any soup such as chicken or beef soup or made into soup on its own.
To two tablespoons of olive oil add a diced onion and three or four garlic cloves and sauté until soft. (Don't worry about chopping too finely; the soup will be pureed at the end.) Add six cups of scrubbed and chopped carrots to the onions and stir to coat with the oil. Season with salt and pepper. Add six cups (approx.) of stock. This can be chicken or vegetable stock or even just water. Cook until the carrots are tender. Puree in a food processor and adjust the stock and the seasoning. Serve in heated bowls.
Variation: Add a tablespoon of minced fresh ginger for carrot and ginger soup.
Variation II: After adding the stock to the carrots, add a peeled orange cut into four and cook until the carrots are tender. Then, puree altogether for carrot and orange soup. I serve this soup over a wedge of Brie cheese in the soup bowl. A creamy and delicious soup for appetizer or lunch.
From appetizer to soup to entrée and on to dessert, (carrot cake) the carrot in many colours is grown locally here in Uxbridge and available year round. If you haven't scrubbed up a carrot lately, take this as your invitation to try some new ways with a really 'old' vegetable.
