Genesis 1:29—And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

Hello everybody. Once again it’s time for some good ‘ole nourishing food. Carrots happen to be very nourishing and healthy—a gold mine of nourishment, and we need to add more to our diet. These healthful vegetables provide impressive amounts of beta-carotene as well as a good amount of fiber. Consuming carrots may help to protect against heart disease, certain types of cancer, skin disorders, eye problems, constipation and high cholesterol. I happen to be a person that likes carrots raw or cooked.

The following recipe is one that I haven’t tried yet but really intend to. As with most winter vegetables, roasting carrots will sweeten and intensify their flavor as moisture escapes and they shrink. Any carrots will do for this dish, but the large storage carrots are better. Coated first with olive oil, they will caramelize beautifully, along with the whole garlic cloves you also toss in, which will soften in both favor and texture. This is a perfect companion to roasted chicken, beef or pork.

 

Roasted Carrots with Garlic

1 teaspoon grated nutmeg                               1 teaspoon coarse salt                         10 large carrots

Generous grating of fresh black pepper          8 cloves garlic, peeled but left whole (more if they are small)

1/4 cup olive oil                                              1 tablespoon fresh rosemary

 

Heat the oven to 375 degrees and then preheat a large roasting pan in it for five minutes. The large size will allow you to avoid crowding the pan, which would steam the carrots. While the pan preheats, mix the nutmeg, salt and pepper together in a small bowl. Scrub the carrots, and then trim the tops, removing any green-tinged parts of the roots. Cut them diagonally into large chunks. In the hot roasting pan, carefully toss the carrots and garlic cloves with the olive oil, making sure to coat all the pieces thoroughly. Sprinkle carrots and garlic with the seasoning mixture and toss again until they are uniformly coated. Put the pan in the oven. After 20 minutes, remove the pan, add the rosemary, and mix everything with a metal spatula, scraping the bottom of the pan to keep the vegetables from sticking. Roast for 25 minutes and serve. Enjoy.

You can add more to your diet by using carrot juice in place of water in homemade bread or pizza dough, making a sauce to serve over grilled chicken, by sautéing carrots with garlic in olive oil until very tender, stirring shredded carrots into rice pudding after the pudding is cooked, substituting carrot juice for broth in soups, stews and pasta sauces, or cooking carrots along with potatoes when boiling potatoes for mashing.

Hope this has been helpful to some of you. Until next time!

Alice Russell, also known as “Me Me,” is a guest columnist. Her email address is letstalkherbs@gmail.com.