Plate to Plate

Do you remember baby carrots? You know, those woody little carrots cut to runt-size with some kind of a lathe? They sort of taste like wet cardboard?

Well, this post isn’t about them. It’s about real carrots, the blessedly unique, sometimes gnarled, dirt-encrusted types that grow in the ground and shoot up soft, carroty-perfumed green fronds above the ground. It was a great many years (and a great many tasteless baby carrots consumed) before I saw, in real life, outside of a Bugs Bunny cartoon, a carrot with fronds still attached. But it wasn’t until this year that I really, really started tasting carrots.

You see, for all the bum of a summer we had this year — nary a tomato and few zucchinis to be seen — our CSA was somehow able to produce some of the most luscious carrots I’ve ever had. They are crisp and sweet. They are thick and even a little juicy. They are quintessentially, deeply carroty, and they require little more than a quick scrub — peeling is totally not necessary.

So it’s been carrots galore around here: some of Alice Waters’ simple carrot soup here (with toasted cumin and butter), a little carrot-tarragon tart there (for Thanksgiving and Christmas, too), and, eventually, this fantastic little warm/cool salad, discovered during my hearty-but-healthy December kick.

It’s from Jamie Oliver. I know, I know — a Food Network personality. But, you guys, Jamie Oliver is really great. He’s into demystifying good food and bringing people back into the kitchen — in fact, he’s got a whole new TV show just about that. His book Jamie’s Italy juxtaposes a stirring photograph of a slaughtered animal with a simple but earnest little essay on the evils of factory farming. In a cookbook. For Americans.

See what I’m saying?

In other words, he’s not just a pretty face. And he can make a mean salad.

Jamie Oliver’s Roasted Carrot and Avocado Salad with Orange and Lemon Dressing

Adapted from Jamie at Home

1 lb. medium differently colored carrots with their tops
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 or 2 small dried chiles, crumbled
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
2 cloves of garlic, peeled
4 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves picked
extra virgin olive oil
red or white wine vinegar
1 orange, halved
1 lemon halved
3 ripe avocados
red wine vinegar
4 x 1/2-inch thick slices of ciabatta or other crusty italian bread
2 big handfuls interesting winter salad greens
2 bunches watercress (or just increase the greens)
2/3 c. creme fraiche
4 tablespoons mixed seeds, toasted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Parboil the carrots in boiling, salted water for 10 minutes, until they are very nearly cooked, then drain and put them into a roasting pan. While the carrots are cooking smash the cumin seeds, chillies, salt, and pepper in a mortar and pestle. Add the garlic and thyme leaves and smash again until you have a kind of paste. Add enough extra virgin olive oil to generously cover the paste, and a good swig of vinegar. Stir together, then pour over the hot carrots in the tray, coating them well. Add the orange and lemon halves, cut-side down. Place in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden.

While the carrots are roasting, halve and peel your avocados, discarding the pits, then cut them into wedges lengthwise and place in a big bowl. Remove the carrots from the oven and add them to the avocados. Use tongs to squeeze the roasted orange and lemon juice into a bowl and add the same amount of extra virgin olive oil and a little swig of red wine vinegar. Season, and pour this dressing over the carrots and avocados. Mix together, have a taste, and correct the seasoning. Just before you’re ready to eat, toast or griddle the ciabatta slices.

Tear the toasted bread into little pieces and add to the dressed carrot and avocado. Mix together, toss in the salad leaves and watercress and transfer to a big platter or divide between individual plates. Spoon over a nice dollop of creme fraiche, sprinkle the toasted seeds, and drizzle over some extra virgin olive oil.