A New Tradition: Cinnamon-spiced Carrots
For me, the best type of Christmas is a beautifully sunny day, clear blue skies, and my family eating dinner around the picnic table in the garden, shaded underneath the grape arbor. Happily enough, Christmas just past was one of those days. Bizarre though the setting and season might seem to those in the northern hemisphere, the Christmas dinner would be instantly recognizable however – seafood entrée, main of turkey, cranberry sauce, gravy, ham and roast vegetables, followed by cheeseboard and fruit pudding with lashings of cream and brandy sauce.
Tradition and family are two of the things that make the day so special (the little collection of cook’s knickknacks I usually receive as presents also helps of course!), and traditionally our family’s dinner includes caramelised carrots. However as this was the first year I was cooking the main course for all the relatives, I decided to opt for a carrot recipe that was a little less time and attention-critical. Olive’s January issue produced my solution – in an article presenting Christmas dinners with an ethnic touch, the Moroccan section offered up a Cinnamon-spiced Carrots recipe.
I followed the recipe faithfully, using fresh stock for the dish and only omitting the cayenne pepper in deference to my two young cousins (to be honest they didn’t eat any carrots anyway, but in the interests of family harmony I shall refrain from commenting on that and their other eating peccadilloes). The dish didn’t suffer from the lack, but next time I’ll definitely include the cayenne – it would have added just that slight zing! which root vegetable dishes carry off so well.
The actual cooking itself took about 5 minutes more than advertised (I’m not particularly fond of extra-crunchy carrots) and the liquid reduced down to a mildly sweet and spicy syrup clinging to the carrots and helping them retain their temperature. Easy to prepare and lenient in its serving time-frame, this dish proved an excellent choice. Those who ate it liked the sweet cinnamon complement to the carrots and I was very happy with the outcome. Sad to say for my family members who love caramelised carrots, that dish has just been bumped from future Christmas menus.
Cinnamon-spiced Carrots
‘Olive’ Jan 06 issue: “Fast Christmas in 2 ½ Hours” article
20 minutes
unsalted butter
carrots 8-10, cut into thick batons
soft light brown sugar 2 Tb
vegetable stock fresh, cube or concentrate made up to 125ml (or use water)
lemon ½ juiced
cinnamon sticks 2
ground cinnamon ¼ tsp
cayenne pepper 1 tsp
Heat a knob of butter in a large frying pan and add the carrots. Gently fry for 4-5 minutes, stiffing often until slightly softened. Add the sugar and stir until melted, then stir in the stock or water, lemon juice, cinnamon sticks, ground cinnamon and cayenne. Season with salt, reduce the heat to low. Simmer, covered for 8-10 minutes or until the carrots are just tender. Serve warm or at room temperature. Serves 8
The first time my wife and I had cinnamon-spiced carrots, we were enjoying our 35th Anniversary last month at a fine restaurant in Nelson British Columbia. We enjoyed it so much that we wanted to make them ourselves. (I’m a bit of a hobby chef) We had them again today, using your recipe, but we served them as a side dish alongside some nicely marinated New York strip loin steaks, topped with a mango chutney sauce, and baked potato wedges. Also a mixed green salad, and a good red wine from our Okanagon Valley. Your carrots added a touch of celebration that we will use far more often in the future. Thanx for the recipe. Ray.