Friday, October 19, 2007

Carote a la Salvia/Carrots and Sage


This is my entry for Kalyn's Weekend Herb Blogging, being hosted this week by Susan from The Well Seasoned Cook.


Here is a simple fall vegetable dish that I threw together the other night. The caramelized carrots are almost like candy and disappear quickly! This would make a lovely and easy Thanksgiving side dish.

I just discovered that sage, one of my favorite herbs, has calcium, vitamins A and C, and also has some amazing healing properties. Sage works as an anti-oxidant and can be used to treat indigestion, poor circulation, depression, anxiety, excessive perspiration, reduce night sweats (especially in menopause) and female sterility. It also supports healthy functioning of the liver and is an excellent memory enhancer. Wow!

Most of you already know that carrots are packed with beta-carotene, but did you know that they also have a good amount of dietary fiber, and are rich in anti-oxidants and minerals? Did you also know that carrots probably originated in Afghanistan and that Holtville, California promotes itself as the "Carrot Capital of the World"? I particularly like the red and purple varieties that one can find at farmers' markets; they have more of an earthy flavor. I also found out through Wikipedia, that the purple-skinned with orange flesh varieties are better at fighting cancers.

In summary, SAGE + CARROTS = One healthy dish!

Carote a la Salvia/Carrots and Sage
Carrots - sliced in bite-sized pieces (approx. 3 carrots per person)
Sage - chopped (approx. one leaf per carrot)

Toss carrots and sage with salt, pepper and olive oil or butter (they don't need much, maybe 1/2 tsp. per 3 carrots) in a baking dish.

Bake at 350 degrees until the carrots are caramelized, or about one hour.
Buon appetito!

Please hope on over to Susan's page after October 21st to check out the other entries.

30 comments:

Susan said...

Jeni, thanks for your lovely recipe. Sage is a great way to enhance our most "common" of root vegetables.
Glad you could join in Weekend Herb Blogging!

Anonymous said...

OH MY GOODNESS that looks like a wonderful recipe. I will make it - I love sage, I think it's my favorite herb in the world. :-) Thanks for posting this!

The Passionate Palate said...

Susan - you are most welcome and I'm happy to finally have joined.

Tina - I hope you like it!!!

Jannis said...

I know that I will love this! I will try it in the next week or so.

The Passionate Palate said...

Jannis - do let me know when you try it. It is amazingly simple.

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

An excellent choice for the WHB Jeni!!! I was also very interested in your culinary tours in Italy.Visited your site. I attended a cooking school on the island of Kea last Spring and incorporated it into a 5 week holiday. Best time of my life so far!!!

The Passionate Palate said...

Valli - welcome and glad you liked the recipe.

Please let me know if you have any questions about the tour site. I actually have other cooking schools that I work with that I do not have up on my site yet - in Abruzzi, Veneto and on Lake Garda.

Rowena said...

Jeni you princess, you! I've had carrots with parlsey, carrots with mint, and carrots with ginger....this is a first that I've seen with sage!

Joanna said...

Good flavours .. and there's still plenty of sage in my garden

Thanks for sharing
Joanna

Katie Zeller said...

I've just been wondering about baking carrots - what perfect timing. And I love, love, love sage!

The Passionate Palate said...

Rowena - ;-) I was thinking of the flavor of ravioli di zucca with sage and I thought the flavor and sweetness of carrots were similar, so why not?

Joanna - My sage has failed miserably this year. I am going to try planting again now.

The Passionate Palate said...

Katie - I am also a huge sage lover! So if you have any other sagey recipes, please share.

african vanielje said...

Perfect with any roast I would say jeni. Delicious

The Passionate Palate said...

AV- Many thanks, bella.

'A Tuscan view.....from Umbria' said...

I am going to cook this tonight, we have friends here and I am planning a celebratory meal. It will a perfect partner to pollo arrosto. I love sage - have you tried it simply fried in olive oil, it goes all crispy and delicious, a great garnish or appetiser. Thanks for this lovely atumnal recipe, Jeni and thanks for adding us to your links

The Passionate Palate said...

Amanda - I hope it goes well with your pollo! Yes, I've tried friend sage, and I also love it battered and deep fried. I'll eat sage anyway.

Rebecca Schneider said...

Oh, yes. Carrots and sage...a wonderful combination. You have inspired me to eat more carrots! I'm now hoping to find organic carrots and sage at the Santa Monica Farmers market on Wednesday so I can make this wonderful recipe you posted. Gracie!

Elle said...

Nutritious and beautiful, too. I never knew all that information about sage, just that I like the way it add a savory note to dishes. This really would be perfect for Thanksgiving!

Figs, Bay, Wine said...

Gorgeous recipe! There's been a true rainbow of carrots at the greenmarkets here for a few months - I've been in heaven, and I can't wait to try this with them. Thanks!

katerinafiore said...

looks divine jeni....i need to go shopping for carrots and sage...yum yum

Anonymous said...

I love carrots done this way :)Simple and so good.

Kalyn Denny said...

What a great combination! I love carrots with sage and this sounds like a perfect way to cook them together, simple but delicious! Great entry, and welcome to WHB!

Anonymous said...

What a fabulous and simple dish. And healthy! I am all for fabulous, simple and healthy. It looks great. I haven't grown sage for some time, but it looks like I need to start again.

Here, downunder in Australia, it is Spring, so time for me to be planting. I only have a balcony and pot garden, but my herbs seem to grow Ok if not prolifically (except curry leaves struggle a bit).

Lovely post, I really enjoyed hearing about sage + carrots = healthy...

Anonymous said...

Your carrots look absolutely wonderful and I can't think of anything else to enhance their flavour(and the health impact!) than sage!
Ronell

Lucy said...

Two of my favourite flavours...perfect. Great autumnal dish - will earmark it for 6 months time!

Stephanie said...

That looks delicious! And healthy! I have an abundance of carrots this week and will definitely try this.

Chris said...

Carrots and sage...a wonderful combination I don't think I have ever tried. Yum! Sounds like a delicious recipe. Thanks!

The Passionate Palate said...

Rebec - I hope you find the ingreditents today, and let me know what you think.

Elle - I never knew either until I looked it up and nice surprise!

Figs - I hope you like them. I, too, love the rainbow colors of all the market carrots.

Katerina - I think it tastes divine too. ;-)

Maryann - We think alike.

Kalyn - Thank you and it is an honor to participate in your wonderful event.

Vegeyum - I hope you can get some sage to grow!

Ronell - I am glad you like the combination.

Lucy - for me, if I put sage on anything I like it.

Stephanie - let me know how it turns out.

Chris - I had never tried it either, and I'm not sure why because it make so much sense to me!

Simona Carini said...

Nice combination of one of my favorite vegetables with one of my favorite herbs: I will definitely try your recipe.

The Passionate Palate said...

Simona - hope you like it!