Thursday, July 30, 2009

What’s Up Doc?

The mini is back. Not the mini-skirt sadly, but teeny, tiny carrots.

These tender, diminutive carrots are proliferating at Restoration Farm and they couldn’t be more precious. These sunny little crunchers just make you happy. One CSA member squealed “How cute!” the minute she laid eyes on them.

I decide to milk the “cute factor” for all its worth. I leave a little shock of green on the top of each and steam them for about 2-3 minutes, so they stay crisp and spunky.

The warm carrots are dressed in marinade adapted from “The Big Book of Preserving the Harvest” – mix ½ cup of honey, 2/3 cup of white wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons whole mustard seeds and 1 teaspoon salt.

The carrots are chilled in the marinade and then served on a bed of lettuce as an adorable first course.

Cute, huh?

©2009 T.W. Barritt All Rights Reserved

10 comments:

Julia said...

Finger food at it's finest! Great idea to marinate them warm before chilling... I bet that really helps the flavors seep in.

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said...

Super cute. Kind of like sweet-and-sour carrot pickles.

veron said...

They are adorable! And I'll have you know that Bugs bunny was one of my favorite cartoons as a child. :)

Giff said...

been a bad reader lately, but glad to catch up on the blog. some great photos coming out of the farm (and my colleagues in midtown are in love with the treats truck). These definitely qualify as cute, and sound delicious!

Foodiewife said...

I would imagine that anyone who isn't crazy about cooked carrots (like me) would change their mind and eat this beautiful dish. Genuine baby carrots!

Christo Gonzales said...

sweet little mini carrots and your glaze sounds perfect - the glisten so!

~~louise~~ said...

oooooooo....how cute she squealed; petite carrots served endearingly...me lika

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

Those carrots are the best, especially if you can get them freshly picked. Great idea to marinate them warm.

T.W. Barritt at Culinary Types said...

Julia - I do love the idea of these as an appetizer!

Lydia - the pickle connection cannot be missed - I'm a fan, too!

Veron - I haven't been able to get that song out of my head after writing this post.

Giff - We should meet up at the Treats Truck!

Deb - No cooked flavor at all - just crisp, tart and honey.

DB - I liked the glaze - lots of eye appeal.

Louise - I'm hoping there's more on the way!


Helene - I'm now quite a fan of fresh picked carrots. Nothing better!

Lori Lynn said...

Very!

I like that marinade, especially the pairing of mustard seeds with carrots.
LL