Carrots, don't you just love them!

Carrots—Just great

Carrots are simply a fantastic vegetable which lend themselves to an endless array of culinary uses. Boiled and tossed in a little butter, roasted, pureed or eaten raw the humble carota var sativa is a vegetable which few can resist. The carrot is even on the list of vegetables grown in the royal garden of Babylon. Interestingly the carrot may have been grown throughout the ages more for its leaves or seeds than its root. The bright orange colour which we are familiar with is far from the only colour of a carrot; carrots come in red, purple, white, orange and green varieties and can add great interest to a meal. Carrots contain a large amount of sugar and were even used as a source of refined sugar. In the past when sugar was a rare commodity the carrot was incorporated into sweet foods and can still be found in the popular carrot cake today. Perhaps the most unusual use for carrots was in the court of King James I when the ladies of the court wore carrots in their hats and pins. The Ancient Greeks used the vegetable to relieve stomach ailments and to increase virility. The Greek name for carrots being philon, from the Greek word philo, “to love. The aphrodisiac quality of the carrots was also used by Iranian men in the 1800.
And to make a simple and delicious carrot and orange soup follow the recipe below.

1 kg carrots peeled and chopped small
1 large onion chopped small
50 gram butter
1 litre vegetable stock
100 ml cream
Juice from 2 oranges (freshly squeezed)

1. In a thick based pot sweat the onion, carrot and butter together without colour
2. Add the stock and allow simmer until the carrots are soft.
3. Add the cream and orange juice then puree the soup
4. Check the seasoning and enjoy.