Jamie Oliver's sticky saucepan carrotsJamie Oliver's sticky saucepan carrots

The countertops aren’t sealed yet, but we still have to eat. So I pulled out my enormous cutting board and went to work on that tonight, trying to make a meal out of the pathetic selections available in the refrigerator.

I had carrots, potatoes, and lentils on hand, which seemed to cover all the important bases: protein, vegetable, starch. Luckily, a dear friend gave us a beautiful cookbook as a housewarming present: Jamie Oliver’s Cook with Jamie. I’ve never been much for Jamie, but this book is undeniably appealing. The writing is rather horrifying, but the recipes seem solid and the pictures are modern and gorgeous.

The book is divided into salads, pasta, meat, fish, etc., much like a textbook, which I think is what he intends it to be. The vegetable section has a recipe for “Sticky saucepan carrots,” and that is what we ate tonight.

carrots

In his version, it’s nothing but carrots. I didn’t have enough carrots to fill this pan, so I filled in the holes with potatoes, which was fine. The idea is to stand up the vegetables, “like little soliders!”, and to cook them in liquid and butter on the stove until the sugar in the carrots caramelizes. When they’re finished cooking, you flip them onto a platter so that the sticky side is facing up. The carrots and potatoes were totally delicious alongside some lentils simmered in stock with garlic.

For four servings, cut about 2 pounds of peeled carrots into 2-inch lengths. Stand them up in a pan so that they fit snugly. Stick some bay leaves in between them, season the carrots well, and drop a knob of butter on top. Add liquid to come halfway up the sides of the carrots, bring to a boil on the stove, and then simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Remove the lid, and cook until the liquid boils down and the carrots get sticky and soft. Flip them over, and serve. You really can’t go wrong.

Comments

This is very appealing to me, especially since-as you well know- the farmbox has been providing more carrots than a person can reasonably handle.

I like Jamie’s food, but agree with you on the writing. He is quite an inspired and practical cook, and a pleasant young fellow, but the writing is, well, as you said…

There really is no reason that cooking and writing should go together- and surprising when you think of it- how often it does.

I mean “how often they do.” Perhaps not in my case, eh?

I really am losing my mind. Of course you have no idea how many carrots I have. I read your post, somehow assuming Mom wrote it. Ack. I will now stop with the comment posting.

Not to worry, Lindy! While I was reading this I was thinking about all the carrots lurking in my crisper drawer. I can only imagine how many carrots the large CSA boxes contain…I have been putting carrots in soups, salads, and stir-frys, all places I don’t normally use them. Did you notice Mark Bittman also had a braised carrot recipe in the Times recipe section last week?

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