These carrots are a cut above
Recipe one of 140 imaginative dishes from new Naomi Pomeroy cookbook
Naomi Pomeroy’s cookbook lives up to its name. (Ten Speed Press/Penguin Random House, $54) has echoes of Julia Child’s detailed recipe style.
The theme of the handsomely illustrated book is this: Follow each directive and you will succeed — even with the more complicated recipes, including puff pastry.
Pomeroy, a self-taught chef in Portland, Ore., writes that following recipes of such culinary gurus as Madeleine Kamman and Alice Waters was part of her training. Her secret, she writes, is practice.
Pomeroy gives specific instructions about ingredients and procedures in her collection of nearly 140 recipes. And her introductions to the recipes tell flavourful stories. Vegetables are a favourite, and she prepares them in imaginative ways: How about tossing green salads with your hands, the better to distribute the dressing? This recipe livens up the humble carrot. Place an empty baking sheet in the oven and preheat oven to 400 F (205 C). Discard tips and stumps of carrots and slice on the slant in 1 1/2-inch (4 cm) pieces. 1. In a large mixing bowl toss carrots with oil and salt. Remove baking sheet from oven and spread quickly with an even layer of carrots. Return pan to the oven and roast until carrots are tender but not soft and have caramelized lightly around the edges, 25 to 35 minutes. Remove from oven. 2. In a small saucepan over low heat, combine vinegar, sugar and salt and bring to a gentle simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Cook until mixture is the consistency of maple syrup and the colour has darkened, about five minutes. Do not let it burn. 3. Stir in the orange peel and pour glaze into a small heatproof bowl or ramekin to stop it from cooking further. (As it cools, it will thicken slightly to a honeylike consistency. When you add it to the carrots in a hot pan, it will return to a maple syrup-like texture. Do not refrigerate it or it will harden.) 4. To serve, melt 1 tbsp (15 mL) butter in a sauté pan or frying pan over medium-high heat. Add carrots and caraway seeds and cook, stirring occasionally, until the carrots are heated through and the butter is bubbling, about three minutes. Add the glaze and toss the carrots to coat them evenly, one to two minutes. If necessary, add the remaining 1 tbsp (15 mL) butter to loosen the glaze and coat the carrots evenly. 5. Serve at once. Makes eight servings. *Place caraway seeds in a heavy frying pan over medium-high heat for 30 to 45 seconds, or just until lightly browned and aromatic.