Once again--it was too exciting to dig into to get a proper picture! So you are left with the picture that came from me jumping up mid-meal and running into the kitchen yelling "Wait! I forgot to get a picture again!" while everyone else is eating :) Sigh. The many perils of a blog...
So far we've had this dish with roasted turkey and then tonight with grilled pork and it's divine with both. It's surprisingly savory, enough so that the sweetness of the carrots isn't the most important note in the dish. It's hearty and savory and versatile to be both a side dish but could also be a main dish for you vegetarians. The recipe calls for it to be baked 40-45 minutes, but I stuck it in the broiler for a few minutes at the end to brown up the top some more. Next time I'm going to try it with whole wheat bread crumbs for healthful purposes.
And for the record--this recipe is from The Blackberry Farm Cookbook which is a gorgeous cookbook and I got it for free when I went to see a taping of the Martha Stewart show. So fun! And truthfully, this book would make a beautiful gift for a cook you may be shopping for. It's huge and beautiful with really unusual, fun, special (in my opinion) recipes. For what it's worth.
CARROT SOUFFLE!
(serves 6-8 as a side dish)
2 pounds carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
1 cup whole milk
1 cup saltine cracker crumbs
3/4 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/3 cup minced onion
1 TBS unsalted butter at room temp
1 tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3 large eggs
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 2-quart souffle dish or baking dish and set it aside.
2. Put the carrots into a large pot and cover with about an inch of salted water. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat, and simmer the carrots for about 10 minutes, until tender when pierced with the tip of a sharp knife.
3. Strain the carrots, puree in a food processor, and transfer to a large bowl. Stir in the milk, cracker crumbs, cheese, onion, butter, salt, cayenne, and black pepper.
4. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer or wire whisk to beat the eggs until they are foamy, and then whisk them into the carrot mixture.
5. Transfer the carrot mixture into the prepared souffle dish and bake for 40-45 minutes, until puffed and light golden brown on top. Serve warm.
Let me know if you make this dish and like it! I think you will... :)
And the shoot for Progresso went great today, by the way. Thank you all for your well-wishes! It was super tedious and weird acting-wise, having to say the same 4 lines 300 different ways over an hour (after sitting around waiting for 6 hours). You know how when you say a word over and over and you start tripping out over how it doesn't even sound like a word anymore? That was my day. But I'm grateful for a job! And everyone was super nice, so no complaints from me. Especially if it runs and we can make some money.
Except that I'm real tired. So I'm off to bed but I'll be back soon with more crafts...and thanks for reading, everybody. Your presence thrills me. xoxo
Oh that looks lovely, I like the music playing in your blog btw..can't wait to have some free time to read some more!
Posted by: Teeny | December 12, 2009 at 04:47 PM