Monday, August 25, 2014

The Mountain of the Women Carrots

Irish Cooking can also be found at The Petit Chef and Pinterest.

All receipes are on Petitchef


This a great recipe for carrots and a typical Irish recipe--it doesn't skimp on the butter and cream. In Irish it is called "slieve na m ban carrots." I like to serve this vegetable side just so I can repeat its name to my guests. I love how it rolls off my tongue. Some words are like that. I love to say thwart and svelte and pithy.They make my mouth feel sensual and smart at the same time.

Kind of like how Irish butter truly melts in your mouth. Creamy Irish butter is simply wonderful. When I lived in Ireland in the eighties, I was surprised to learn that at the end of the year, butter was really inexpensive. They would reduce the price for the month of December. I don't really remember why. Something to do with amount of production for the year. I just remember how great it was to get all this incredible butter so cheaply. My cholesterol probably started climbing then!

I had this carrot side at a restaurant in Longford Town in County Longford in the Irish Midlands in the Province of Leinster. I asked the chef for the recipe, and he cordially obliged my query. Longford is Ireland's third smallest county. Bordered to the west by the River Shannon, it is a quiet farming county of rolling plains and picturesque stretches of water and is a focal point of the northern midlands where the provinces of Leinster, Ulster, and Connaught meet.

Of archaeological interest is the Irish timber trackway on view at the Corlea Trackway Visitor Centre southwest of Longford town while in the other direction is the 19th century Carrigglas Manor, an imposing Gothic manor house that includes a costume and lace museum.


Fishing opportunities around Lough Ree and Lanesborough make Longford attractive for anglers, but walkers enjoy the extensive towpath along the Royal Canal while those interested in times past are drawn to the large portal dolmen at Aughnacliffe, which is thought to be 5000 years old. Elsewhere, visitors are attracted to charming villages and towns such as Ardagh, Abbeyshrule, Newtown Cashel, Ballymahon, and Granard.




            My friends Anne and Eddie and their boys in Trim, 1984.

 
The Mountain of the Women Carrots

Ingredients:

12 young carrots with tender greens
3 T. of  butter
½  cup of milk
½ cup of heavy cream
2 egg yolks, beaten
1 tsp. of finely chopped flat parsley
Salt and pepper to taste


Preparation:

Trim and wash the carrots. Halve lengthwise. Melt the butter over moderate heat. Add milk, salt, pepper and carrots. Cook gently until carrots are tender and have absorbed the butter. Stir together the cream and egg yolks and add to the carrots. Reheat, but do not boil to avoid curdling. Stir until thickened. Add the parsley and serve immediately.

1 comment:

  1. Incredible!! I made these for my husband tonight and they turned out amazing! I used baby carrots chopped up (all I had) and they were delicious! The best carrots I’ve ever tasted!

    ReplyDelete