Carrots braised in butter and thyme is a classic side dish.
Sweet and savoury at the same time.
And there’s no need to to reach for the honey that’s listed on plenty of old recipes - homegrown carrots, and even the modern supermarket varieties, are
sweet enough to do without. That’s not the end of the carrot and thyme partnership either. Try pan-frying carrots over a low heat in a little olive
oil, with a lid on so they partly steam and partly sizzle. As they become tender, add a crushed garlic clove and a sprinkle of fresh thyme leaves,
and just before serving add slices of dried black olive.
This recipe uses the same marriage but turns it fresh and snappy with the addition of cleansing fennel and the bracing crunch of radish. Serve this salad
with barbecued fish or chicken for an easy summer dinner.
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What you need:
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3 carrots
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1 head fennel
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6 radishes
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6 sprigs fresh thyme
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Olive oil
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Juice of one lemon
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Honey
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Salt and pepper
What to do:
Peel and thinly slice the carrots - use a mandoline if you have one.
Quarter, remove the core and thinly slice the fennel. Reserve the leafy tops if they look fresh.
Heat a fry pan and add a slurp of olive oil and gently cook the fennel and carrot slices with the leaves from half of the thyme sprigs. Season with salt
and pepper.
Let cool, then add the thinly sliced radish.
Mix together the juice of the lemon, an equal amount of olive oil, plus an extra slurp by shaking in a jar with a lid. Add honey, salt and pepper to taste,
and then the leaves from the rest of the thyme.
Lightly dress the salad and serve, with the leafy fennel tops on top.