Lemony Carrot Marmalade
Buttery and Light
Lemony Carrot Marmalade | Dara O’Brien
By Dara O’Brien
Creative Director, Lake Isle Press
When I stumbled on this recipe for carrot marmalade in Toni Lydecker’s Lake Isle Press book, “Piatto Unico,” I was skeptical. Marmalade has fruit, not veggies. But then, what about chutneys? They can incorporate tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, beets, or just about any root vegetable, and they’re really just savory jams with a little added vinegar, right? So, this marmellata could definitely be a thing.
That I had never heard of it made me especially eager to try it. Since I often make homemade food gifts for the people on my holiday list, I thought it might be a nice departure from the usual. The recipe looked easy enough; take three ingredients and add water. I gave it a test run.
As is often the case with a new recipe, even an easy one, there were a few things to figure out. I’m a little challenged when it comes to zesting in thin strips (I have no idea what I’m doing wrong) so I took a vegetable peeler and made wide strips of lemon, which I then julienned. I decided that a carrot chunk would be around two inches long, and the really wide ones should be divided in half. I had a little trouble determining if the sugar water was getting syrupy once it turned transparent, but I turned off the heat and let it cool. Yes, it did thicken.
When it came time to put it all in the food processor it seemed to me there was too much liquid, so I fished out the carrots and zest and placed them in the processor bowl with a small portion of the liquid, then let it rip. I added more liquid in small increments, and when the mixture reached the texture of apple sauce I stopped and gave it a taste. Excellent. Not too sweet, and very light and lemony. I let it cool and stored it in the fridge, reserving the remaining liquid, now tinted a light orange from the carrots, to use as simple syrup.
This marmellata doesn’t have the texture of a fruit marmalade or jam. Because it gets processed to a smooth consistency it’s more like a butter; there are no bits of fruit and it’s not jellied. When I went online and looked for images of carrot marmalade, mostly jellied options appeared; but when I looked for marmellata di carote, I saw many images that were similar to what I had made.
I smeared some on bread for breakfast the next morning and the consistency was perfect. Though I didn’t use all of the lemon juice/sugar water, I did include all of the zest, and my finished marmellata had a mellow lemony sweetness. It’s a wonderful option for breakfast or brunch, and could be a nice accent for a cheese board or charcuterie.
It will also indeed serve as a festive homemade gift for the holidays. That’s why I brought a jar to my family’s Thanksgiving celebration. ‘Tis the season.
LEMONY CARROT MARMELLATA RECIPE
Marmellata di Carote e Limone
Click here for printable recipe.
Makes about 1 quart
Prep: 20 Minutes | Cook: 40 Minutes
It’s a wonderful option for breakfast or brunch, and could be a nice accent for a cheese board or charcuterie.
INGREDIENTS
3 large lemons
10 medium carrots, trimmed (about 2 pounds)
3 cups sugar (see note)
Dara O’Brien
PREPARATION
Use a zester to produce fine threads of lemon zest (yellow part only). (Alternatively, grate the zest; or, use a peeler to remove strips of the zest, and cut into julienne strips.) Halve the lemons and squeeze the juice (about 1 cup).
Cut the carrots into chunks and place them in a medium saucepan with 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil and simmer, partly covered, until very tender, about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine the sugar with 3/4 cup water in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves, creating a cloudy liquid that eventually turns into a transparent syrup.
Drain the carrots and add with the lemon juice to the saucepan with the syrup; simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes.
Scrape the carrot mixture into a food processor bowl. Process until smooth. it should be very dense; if it seems too loose, return the mixture to the saucepan and cook a little longer. Cool and transfer to clean mason jars or other containers. The jam keeps well in the refrigerator for several weeks.
NOTE
Making marmellata this way produces a slightly runny, not-too-sweet spread. For a thicker, jammier jam, increase the sugar to 3 1/2 cups.
Recipe from “PIatto Unico” by Toni Lydecker, Lake Isle Press, 2011
LEMONY CARROT MARMALADE RECIPE
From “Piatto Unico”
by Toni Lydecker, Lake Isle Press, 2011
“As you have no doubt heard and observed, a real Italian meal consists of several courses. Except when it doesn’t.” —Toni Lydecker
A languorous multi-course Italian meal is a traditional and wonderful thing; in this authoritative collection, Toni Lydecker leads us to the simple beauty of the piatto unico or one-course Italian meal. Well-balanced and packed with bold flavors, the piatto unico pairs the rustic simplicity of great Italian cooking with a modern sensibility.
ALSO FROM “PIATTO UNICO”
Couscous Confetti Salad with Tuna Recipe
Herbed Roast Pork Tenderloin with Parsnip Puree Recipe
Orecchiette Al Fumo Recipe
Pot Roast with Porcini and Root Vegetables Recipe
Mountain Salad With Bacon, Fontina, and Sweet-Sour Onions Recipe
Saffron Risotto Recipe
Spring Greens With Rice Soup Recipe