Carrots are such a staple you’d be forgiven if you’d never thought of them as the main event of a meal or barely even given carrots a second thought. But we love carrots over at Green Earth Organics and you’ll always find them in our subscription boxes. Covered in mud and fresh from the field here in Galway, I can honestly say these are the best carrots I’ve ever tasted. The scrubbed, plastic wrapped supermarket carrots just don’t compare. Muddy carrots seem to stay fresh longer and taste sweeter so if you get scrubbed ones, keep them in the fridge and use them in a week or so, the muddy ones are ok in a dark, cool kitchen cupboard or pantry for much longer.

I’ve had quite a few requests for carrot recipes as that’s what most people seem to end up with as their next box is arriving – so here are four ways I cook carrots regularly. You can also click on my raw carrot cake recipe which uses a whopping 600g of carrot, my smoked carrot strips which are fabulous for breakfast with wobbly scrambled tofu or on a toasted bagel with cream cheese or my butterbean barleyotto topped with roasted carrots and carrot top pesto if you’d like further carroty inspiration. Please do share your favourite carrot recipes with us too – in the comments or over on our friendly facebook group. Liz x

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Carrot, Chickpea & Apricot Tagine

A warming Middle Eastern stew, simple to put together with punchy flavours from the chermoula paste.

Ingredients (serves 4-6)

• 1 onion
• 4 tbsp olive oil (2 for frying the onion, 2 for the chermoula paste)
• 1 tsp each – cumin seeds, coriander seeds and chilli flakes
• 1 tbsp smoked paprika
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 a preserved lemon (or the zest and juice of 1 lemon)
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 4 carrots
• 2 tins chickpeas
• 2 tins chopped tomatoes
• 1-2 handfuls dried apricots
• salt and pepper to taste

Method

Dice the onion and sauté it over a medium-high heat in a large pot. While it is cooking make the chermoula paste.

Crush the cumin and coriander seeds with a pestle and mortar until roughly broken up. Add the peeled cloves of garlic and crush some more. Then add the chilli flakes and smoked paprika and stir in 2 tbsp of olive oil. Finely dice the preserved lemon and stir it into the spices. Instead of using a pestle and mortar you could use a small blender and pulse the ingredients together into a rough paste.

Add the chermoula paste to the onions and stir for a few minutes to toast the cumin and coriander seeds. Once they are very fragrant, drain the tins of chickpeas and add them to the pot.

Chop the carrots into chunky slices and add them to the pot along with the two tins of chopped tomatoes and the tsp of ground cinnamon. Half fill the tomato tins with water and swirl out any remaining tomatoey juices into the pot.

Slice up the apricots and add them to the stew, season it really well with salt and pepper then put the lid on and simmer for an hour or so until the carrots are cooked through and the stew is rich and flavoursome.

Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed and serve with cous cous or rice or breads or even on it’s own. It’s fantastic with some freshly chopped parsley or coriander mixed through right before serving too. I’ve topped mine in the photo above with some homemade z’atar which is simply an even mix of toasted sesame seeds, dried thyme and ground sumac.

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Carrot Cake Porridge

Sweet spices, grated carrot, creamy oats…delicious topped with walnuts on a cold morning.

Ingredients (serves 1)

• 1 carrot
• 1 mug of oat milk
• 1 tsp mixed spice (or a combination of ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves)
• 1/2 handful of raisins (optional)
• maple syrup to taste
• 4-5 tbsp porridge oats (about 50g)
• walnuts and extra cinnamon/maple syrup to top the porridge

Method

Grate a carrot and put it in a small pot with the oat milk, oats, spices, raisins, oats and maple syrup.

Simmer and stir until hot and creamy, then serve topped with walnuts and a dusting of cinnamon. Add an extra drizzle of maple syrup if you like too!

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Carrot & Mint Fritters with Yogurt, Leaves & Lemon

Fritters are a fantastic light lunch with salad leaves and a simple dip. Or have them as a sandwich filler? Very versatile, use whatever herbs, spices and veg you fancy. This combination is especially delicious though. Tastes like Spring is around the corner!

Ingredients (makes 4 fritters)

• 1/2 a mug of gram flour (about 80g)
• 1/2 a mug of water
• 1 large carrot (or two small) – grated
• 1 handful of chopped fresh mint
• salt and pepper to taste
• vegetable oil for frying
• natural yogurt, salad leaves and lemon to serve

Method

Whisk the gram flour and water together into a smooth batter, then season it well with a big pinch of salt and pepper.

Stir in the grated carrot and chopped mint and then fry well spaced dollops of the mixture in a pre-heated to medium-high, well oiled frying pan. Fry on both sides for about 3-5 minutes per side or until golden brown and crispy and cooked through.

Serve hot with a couple of spoons of natural yogurt with a little lemon zested over it (lemon and mint work so well together), a few salad leaves and a wedge of fresh lemon to squeeze over the leaves and the fritters.

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Carrot, Blood Orange & Sesame Salad

Toasty, salty, sweet, fresh and tangy – just the perfect combinations. This simple salad takes very little time to put together but has all the big time flavours!

Ingredients (serves 1-2)

• A few handfuls of salad leaves
• 1 large grated carrot
• 1 blood orange
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• toasted sesame seeds to serve

Method

Arrange some salad leaves in bowls. Top the leaves with grated carrot.

Mix the toasted sesame oil and soy sauce together with a tsp or so of finely grated blood orange zest. Pour this dressing over the grated carrot.

Peel the blood orange with a small, sharp knife by slicing off the top and bottom then carefully slicing away the skin and white pith.

Chop the blood orange into little chunks and scatter them over the grated carrot.

Top with toasted sesame seeds and enjoy!