How to Cook Carrots
Cooking carrots in oil or butter is the way to go. According to Sally Fallon's wonderful book, Nourishing Traditions, this will bring out more flavor than boiling them in water. Also, she notes that, "... dietary fats are needed for the conversion of carotene to Vitamin A, for mineral absorption and a host of other processes."
So this very simple method makes sure that you get your carotenes into the oil:
Method:
- Peel, then chop your carrots into even-sized pieces.
- Heat the oil, then add the chopped carrots.
- Saute the carrots slowly for at least 10 minutes. If you will be using other vegetables, like onions or celery, saute them in the oil too, after the carrots have had a chance to soften a bit. Then they will all be more flavorful in your soup or stew.
- If you want to watch the effect, use coconut oil, which has no color of its own. The oil will gradually turn golden.
And make sure you don't discard that oil -- use all of it in the rest of your recipe!