Carote marinate (Marinated Carrots)
Ingredients
- 500 g 1 lb carrots (see Notes)
For the marinade:
- A few sprigs of fresh parsley finely chopped
- 1 clove of garlic peeled and finely chopped
- A good pinch or two of red pepper flakes, to taste
- Salt and pepper to taste
- The juice of half a lemon freshly squeezed
- 250 ml 1 cup best quality olive oil
Instructions
- Parboil the carrots in salted water until just slightly done and still quite crunchy. You are not looking to actually cook them—just to soften them a bit, to allow the marinade to penetrate. Cooking times will vary by the type and cut of carrots you are using. For baby carrots as pictured above, 4-5 minutes will do, for larger carrots just a minute or two more. Shredded carrots will take only 1 or 2 at most.
- Remove the carrots and them drain in a colander until they have cooled off but still a bit warm.
- As the carrots are draining, mix all the marinade ingredients in a bowl (or mix them all up in a food processor, using the pulse function to avoid emulsifying them). Give the marinade a taste and feel free to add a bit of this or that to suit your taste.
- Transfer the carrots to a bowl and pour the marinade over. Mix well and let the carrots macerate for at least an hour, preferably several, mixing from time to time.
- Serve in a bowl or dish, pouring any remaining marinade over all.
Notes
Baby carrots are my favorite choice. They make for an elegant presentation for a sit down dinner. You can make this dish with regular supermarket carrots, too. Peel and parboil them as directed above, then, after they've drained and cooled a bit, but them into slices or matchsticks. If you want to save time, you can also use those convenient bags of pre-shredded carrots as well—just be sure to cook them very quickly.