Carrot.

a bag of Irish carrots from the local store was only a euro so obviously I had to take advantage of such a steal. so what to do with all these carrots?! (other than feed the little bunny that hangs out on the patio in front of the kitchen window...) make carrot cake and carrot soup of course!

I found this recipe on the Babbo website for Carrot Cake from the Tyrol. Mario Batali claims that it's " lighter and far more delicate than its American, super-sweet, cream cheese-slathered counterpart." a little taste of italy to keep me company in Ireland! It turned out perfect - a little gooey in the middle, but I like it like that - a dry, clean toothpick is a bad sign. I guess you could just go to the Babbo website as well for the recipe, but below I added my recommendations.

Mario's Carrot Cake Carrot Cake from the Tyrol Torta di Carote 1 ½ cups unbleached flour ½ cup almond flour  (for nut free, I just added an extra 1/2 cup of the unbleached flour) ½ teaspoon baking soda  ½ teaspoon baking powder  1 teaspoon kosher salt  ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg (would double next time) 1 teaspoon ground ginger (would double next time) 3 large eggs at room temperature  1 ¼ cups granulated sugar  ¼ cup orange juice  Freshly grated zest of ½ a large lemon (would use half the amount next time) 1 teaspoon vanilla  1 cup extra virgin olive oil  1 cup finely grated carrots (about 3 medium carrots)  (I overgrated 1 cup of carrots and it still wasn't carroty enough). Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Prepare a 9-inch square pan by greasing and flouring it. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, almond flour, baking soda and baking  powder, salt and spices. Place the eggs and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment  and beat them on medium speed until they are very light in color and tripled in  volume, about two minutes. Beat in the orange juice, lemon zest and vanilla, then  beat for another full minute. With the machine running, slowly drizzle in the olive  oil until it is all fully incorporated. Beat in the dry ingredients halfway, then add the grated carrot and beat well, until the  dry ingredients have disappeared, about 30 seconds. Remove the bowl from the  machine and run a spatula through the batter and around the sides of the bowl  several times to ensure that all the ingredients are fully combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake for 35 to 40 minutes,  turning the cake halfway through the baking time to ensure it cooks evenly. The cake is done when it is golden brown ...but don't let the toothpick come out too clean! Allow the cake to cool in the pan for ten minutes,  then turn it out onto a rack to cool  completely. Dust the cake generously with  confectioner’s sugar before serving.  Store any leftovers in an airtight container. Makes 9 to 12 servings, depending on size or if you're eating alone... It tastes a little too citrusy, overbearing  the flavor of the main ingredient. maybe it's  not supposed to be really carroty, but being  called carrot cake it left me wanting to taste  it a bit more. its perfect with a hot cuppa tea!

Peppery Gingery Roasted Carrot Soup with Honey and Red Pepper Flakes

8 carrots, peeled and cut into equal-sized rounds

Salt + Pepper

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 small Red Onion sliced

3 cloves of Garlic sliced

dried Red Pepper Pods

Ginger - ground and paste

Chicken Stock

2 spoonfuls of honey

Preheat the oven to 200C

Toss the carrot rounds with the s&p and evoo. Roast for 35 minutes, until soft and slightly coloured around the edges. Meanwhile, in a large pan, slowly cook the onions and garlic until fragrant and soft in some evoo. When the carrots are done, add them to the pan with some crushed red peppers and sprinkle generously with the ground ginger. Mix well together on med-high heat and then add the stock. Turn down the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes until the carrots are softer. Blend with an immersion blender, adding more water depending on the consistency you like. Spoon in some honey to taste, a lot of fresh ground pepper and some more ginger if you like. blend again. 

the orange slice is pretty queer.

i have a problem. i could (and do) spend hours and hours looking through cookbooks and the internet, trying to find the perfect recipe. i love it. but even when i find it, i generally just use it as a reference and barely use measuring cups or look at the clock to watch the time (except that I followed the Carrot Cake recipe exactly. I trust MB).  I obviously made this up as I was going along, using different ingredients that are popular in many carrot soups, maybe not together, but the mix of spiciness and sweetness with the texture of the soup is really soothing and warming - it's perfect in front of the fire place! (or possibly served chilled on a warmer day for those of you in warmer climates...)

and i still have another bag of 1 euro carrots....what to make next !?