Day 41: Carrot Coins with Dill

~ recipe updated & photo added in 2006 ~

Simple! Tasty! Fast! A good recipe, especially if you have leftover fresh dill ... or later in the season, dill that needs cutting back.

Lesson: A hand-held julienne tool is worthless, at least for something as hard as a carrot. I fiddled a bit then got out a sharp knife: in a couple of minutes, there was a satisfying pile of thin, orange coins.

I'd love a mandoline but haven't yet made the investment. (2007 Update: I love my new mandoline.)

A food processor would have worked fine either for slicing or grating. For only a pound of carrots, however, in my world, the food processor wasn't worth the trouble (getting it out even though it's handy, making room in the dishwasher, putting it away ... you get the picture!)

June 2006 Note: These were just as good the second year!
  • Next time I'll get out the food processor and cook up two or three pounds to keep on hand.
  • I used only a teaspoon of peanut oil. The verdict? A teaspoon is great but next time, I'll skip the oil entirely ... it's just not necessary.
  • My sense is that carrots served like this are best on the al dente side, not carrot-crunchy but not smooshy-soft either.

CARROT COINS WITH DILL
Active time: 15 minutes
Time to table: 15 minutes
Serves 4


Water to cover
1 pound carrots, peeled
1 teaspoon table salt

1/4 onion, chopped finely
1 generous tablespoon fresh dill
Optional: 1 tablespoon peanut oil (another vegetable oil would be fine)
1 tablespoon red or white (or other) vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Salt & pepper to taste

Bring water to boil in a medium saucepan over MEDIUM HIGH. While water heats, cut carrots into thin-as-you-can coins. Add salt to water. Add carrots and return to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to MEDIUM and cook about five minutes or until just cooked. Drain carrots and plunge into bowl of ice water (see ALANNA's TIPS).

Meanwhile, combine remaining ingredient. Add cooked carrots and combine. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve immediately at room temperature or refrigerate for serving cold.

NUTRITION ESTIMATE
With 1 tablespoon Oil, Per Serving: 93 Cal (33% from Fat, 5% from Protein, 62% from Carb); 1 g Protein; 4 g Tot Fat; 1 g Sat Fat; 15 g Carb; 4 g Fiber; 41 mg Calcium; 0 mg Iron; 668 mg Sodium; 0 mg Cholesterol, Weight Watchers 1 point

With 1 teaspoon oil, Per Serving: 73 Cal (16% from Fat, 6% from Protein, 78% from Carb); 1 g Protein; 1 g Tot Fat; 0 g Sat Fat; 15 g Carb; 4 g Fiber; 41 mg Calcium; 0 mg Iron; 668 mg Sodium; 0 mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 1/2 point

With no oil, Per Serving: 63 Cal (4% from Fat, 7% from Protein, 90% from Carb); 1 g Protein; 0 g Tot Fat; 0 g Sat Fat; 15 g Carb; 4 g Fiber; 41 mg Calcium; 0 mg Iron; 668 mg Sodium; 0 mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 0 points


ALANNA's TIPS
  • "Plunge xx into a bowl of ice water" is kitchen code for preparing a dish of ice and water (enough ice and little enough water so the ice doesn't melt) to stop the cooking process. It's often used when parboiling carrots, asparagus, peas and other tender vegetables just to the point of perfection, then removing the direct heat source (the fire) and the internal heat source (the vegetables themselves).
SOURCE
The online Old Farmer's Almanac has a large collection of interesting looking vegetable recipes.

Alanna Kellogg
Alanna Kellogg

A Veggie Venture is home of "veggie evangelist" Alanna Kellogg and the famous asparagus-to-zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables.

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