I was given a big bag of carrots...more than I could fit in the crisper so I needed to find something to do with them fast. I also needed a side to take with the chicken dish for the Cooks Guild Meeting. I looked in my new book Annals of the Caliphs' Kitchens for a recipe for them. The only recipes I found were for carrot jam, carrot juice, carrot pudding and the like but nothing that would work well as a side dish. I did however find in the glossary on page 786 this info: It describes 3 types of carrots; red-orange, yellow and white. Then goes on to say "Carrot is bloating and slow to digest. However, it is extremely effective in stimulating coitus, especially when eaten pickled in vinegar (murabba). Prepared like this,it can warm up the stomach, stimulate the appetite, and help dispel gasses. (Ibn al- Baytar 164; al-Nuwayri 1176)."
Health effects aside, pickled carrots sounded good with spit roast chicken. There was no recipe so I found this modern recipe with period ingredients ( I left the smallest carrots whole and sliced the rest to the same size. I added the coriander because I love it, especially in pickling.) I had just over 2 lbs of carrots after they were washed and trimmed but it took 3 batches of the pickling solution to mostly fill the jars.
Pickled Carrots
The trick to pickled carrots is cooking them just long enough to retain a harvest-fresh "snap." These tangy treats are terrific for perking up a buffet table or relish tray or serving alongside a hearty sandwich.
6-8 ServingsPrep: 20 min. + chilling
Ingredients
- 1 pound carrots, cut into 3-inch julienne strips
- 3/4 cup water
- 2/3 cup white vinegar
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick (3 inches), broken
- 3 whole cloves
- 1 tablespoon mustard seed
- 1 1/2 tsp whole coriander
Directions
- Place 1 in. of water in a saucepan; add carrots. bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 3-4 minutes or until carrots are
- crisp-tender. Drain and rinse in cold water. Place in a bowl and set
- aside.
- In a saucepan, combine water, vinegar, sugar, cinnamon, whole cloves, coriander and mustard seed. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Cool; pour over the carrots.
- Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. Discard cloves and
- cinnamon. Serve carrots with a slotted spoon. Yield: 6-8 servings.
Nutritional Facts: 1 serving (1/2 cup) equals 103 calories, trace fat (trace saturated fat), 0 cholesterol, 20 mg sodium, 25 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 1 g protein.
Here's a picture of one I made (along with ingredients I'm saving to make another batch of Atraf at-Tib.)
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