International Carrot Day

A root in the length of your hand, conical, bulbous and a green tuft at the end. That is the carrot. Orange, as we are used to it.

Though, did you ever try black carrots? Or purple, white, red, yellow ones? How much do you use carrots at all – cooking, baking, as a snack, supplement and juice? Today is the day to try it all! It is International Carrot Day.

The different-coloured ones are cultivars. Yellow carrots are less sweet – but even between orange ones there can be large differences in taste.

Good to know: The β-carotene they contain is soluble in fat. In order for the carotene to be absorbed by the body and then converted to vitamin A, they should be consumed with fat. The absorption is also much higher if the vegetable has been cooked.

Carrots as main dish: Carrot soup with coconut

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, chopped to small pieces
• 1kg carrots, sliced thinly
• 1 piece of ginger, at least size of a thumb
• 4 large sweet potatoes – or optionally potatoes – chopped
• ½ litre vegetable broth
• 1 tin of creamy/rich coconut milk (400ml)
• 2 tbsp lime/lemon juice
• 1 tbsp agave syrup, otherwise honey
• Salt and pepper
• Some coriander leaves, chopped

Instructions:

Heat the oil in a pan and steam the onions in it.

Add carrots and ginger and steam for another five minutes.

Add vegetable broth and potatoes and cook until tender.

Puree the soup.

Add the rest of the ingredients – seasoning with salt and pepper and garnishing with coriander.

Roasted carrots

Ingredients:

• 800g carrots – washed, not pealed
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 tbsp coriander
• 2 tbsp szechuan pepper
• 2 tbsp curry powder
• ½ tbsp salt
• 40ml olive oil

Instructions:

Half the carrots lengthwise.

Crush and mix garlic, coriander and szechuan pepper.

Put all ingredients in a large pot and mix well.

Fill it in a tin and roast for 25 minutes at 230°C.

Carrot cake

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs (alternatively around 10 tbsp apple sauce)
• 250g sugar
• 250ml neutral oil
• 1 tsp cinnamon powder
• 375g grated carrots
• 200g ground almonds
• 250g flour
• 2 tsp baking powder

Frosting:

• 300g cream cheese (e.g. cashew cream cheese, delicious and vegan)
• 100g icing sugar
• 1 pck vanilla sugar
• 1 tsp up to tbsp lemon juice

Instructions:

Blend the eggs, sugar, oil and cinnamon with the mixer.

Mix in the carrots.

Mix almonds, flour and baking powder and stir it into the batter.

Pour the mixture into a greased cake tin and put it in the oven. The 26 cm Ø tin bakes at 180°C top/bottom heat for around 40 – 50 minutes.

Mix the frosting ingredients and pour it onto the cooled cake.

Carrot juice without juicer

• Must have: a mixer, around 400g of carrots, a sieve
• Nice to have: flax/lineseed oil, either ginger or a lemon, ice cubes

It is supposedly way easier with a juicer – but good thing it is possible with a mixer!

Instructions:

Put the carrots in the mixer and mix.

How well this works depends on your mixer. You might have to add around 500ml hot water, and it can be better not to add all the carrots at once.

Have them mixed to puree.

Mix the puree with one and a half cup of boiling hot water.

Let the mixture stand for around 15 minutes. Nutrients and flavour will now dissolve in the water.

Strain the puree through a sieve.

The juice can be refined with between a teaspoon and a tablespoon of flax/lineseed oil and some ginger or lemon squeeze.

It is best chilled and enjoyed with ice cubes.

Featured image credit: Pixabay, congerdesign