What is simple, colorful, flavorsome and used in cooking & baking?

The Stunning Carrot!

Do you see carrots as a hero vegetable?   You could say they have super powers yet how would you know without a label to tell you.  What a shame, if carrots did come with a nutrition label PLUS marketing messages here is what I think you would see;

Carrots are a good source of vitamins and minerals!
Carrots are extremely low in fat!
Carrots are a component of a healthy diet.

Now turn the carrot over and lets see what is on the back panel:

The nutrition facts for two small-to-medium raw carrots (100 grams) are:

• Calories:                 41
• Water:                    88%
• Protein:                  0.9 grams
  • Carbs:          9.6 grams
  • Sugar:          4.7 grams
• Fiber:                     2.8 grams
• Fat:                        0.2 grams
  
  Carbs in the form of – starch and sugars
  Sugar in the form of sucrose and glucose
  Fiber in the form of pectin { a soluble fibre} and cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin {insoluble fibre}@
  @Soluble fibre helps lower blood sugar levels by slowing down your digestion of sugar and starch.
  Insoluble fibre helps reduce constipation

And the vitamin and mineral content is also worthy of mention, look at all you get in just two carrots!

Would agree, carrots are a rather good vegetable to have on hand.

However, I don’t think there are enough recipes that allow carrots to show off.  Carrots are still seen as things to hold dip, add to recipes for flavour, used as a side dish, but never as the star of its own show.    What if there was a recipe that allow the humble carrot to be the star.  I recently found such a recipe – Carrot Sung Choi  Boa.  The recipe was perfect for a party I  hosted over the weekend.  The guests loved it, I loved it and my husband loved it.  I know you will love it too, so I have included the recipe here for you!

Now that you know what a kick *** vegetable carrots are, will you use them more in your daily cooking?  Maybe you need some ideas to help your own creative juices going – here are some ways I use carrots:

• Roasted whole to be use as a side dish or for salads
• Grated, to be added to any thing like meat loaf, pasta sauce, and salads (adding fibre ).
• Cut into different shapes for different uses – coins, baton (carrot sticks), spiral (for noodles), thin match sticks, diced (mirepoix) for stocks and stews.
• Healthy snack.
• You can turn them into soup, dips, or juice, bake into a cake, turn into fritter, or plant-based filling for Sung Choi Bao
  

  Stunning Carrot Sung Choi Bao

  

  January 28, 2020

  by Patricia

  Cuisine Chineese

  Category Dinner Healthy Advice Recipes

  I discovered this recipe while looking for a menu item for a party. The original recipe I came across was by Jacqueline Alwill from her website The Brown Paper Bag. The photo I used here is also from that same website.
  The changes I made were to swap out the quinoa for cauliflower and broccoli rice with minced mushrooms added.
  The Topping was changed from peanuts to hemp and sesame seeds in an effort to keep this nut free.
  
  

  Persons

  2

  

  Notes

  I did makes some changes:
  1. I changed the quinoa out for a mix of cauliflower and broccoli rice. To that mixture I added finely minced mushrooms.
  2. I opted to change the crushed peanuts for Hemp Seeds and Toasted sesame seeds. Very nice and great if you are going NUT free.
  

  Ingredients

  • 2 teaspoons coconut oil
  • 4 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
  • 2 cups (400g) carrot, grated
  • 1 ½ cups (300g) cooked cauliflower and broccoli rice ( original recipe used the same amount of cooked quinoa)
  • ¼ cup water
  • 1 red or green chilies, finely chopped (for less heat, remove the seeds)
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 2-3 tablespoons tamari
  • 4 Asian shallots, finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup (100g) fresh Shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
  • ¼ – ½ bunch coriander, leaves and stalks finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup mixture of hemp seeds and toasted sesame seeds
  • Lettuce leaves - iceberg is the best option. Alternatively you could use romaine (Cos)

  Instructions

  1. Heat coconut oil in a large fry pan or wok, and sliced garlic and saute for 30seconds.
  2. Add carrot and cauliflower, broccoli and mushroom mixture and cook for 4 minutes.
  3. Add water, sesame oil and tamari and cook a further 4 minutes.
  4. Next, add chopped shallots and coriander and cook for 3 minutes.
  5. Serve hot with lettuce leaves, extra chili and garnish with hemp seeds and toasted sesame seeds.

  Tags

  baking,

  Carrot,

  cooked,

  cooking,

  flavour,

  flavoursome,

  mirepoix,

  mirepoix cut,

  raw,

  simple,

  snack

  © 2023 Patricia of Warmly Nourished
  
  
• Or use with other left over vegetables, like cherry tomatoes and zucchini and create a whole meal like I did after my party.
  

  Am I going to be a soup, pasta sauce, or…..

   

  I turn 500 grams carrots + one onion + garlic + 2 zucchinis + 300g of cherry tomatoes and 1 tin of chickpeas into a vegetable tagine. All  vegetables were saved from going to waste!

  

  Stunning vegetables saved from going to waste!

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