In my opinion, carrots are so underrated!  Ask yourself this…when do they play a starring role in any recipe (except for carrot cake!)?  This is the perfect recipe to do them justice and give them the credit they deserve.

Although I personally find the flavour of ginger to be a little overwhelming, I DO find that it works really well in this recipe, balancing the sweetness of the carrots and adding an extra kick of flavour to the dish.

Today I decided to give a new life to those sad, deprived carrots in my fridge and hopefully come up with a recipe that my son (and I) would love.  I’m going out on a limb here when I say…”I think I succeeded!”  These carrots are so deliciously sweet and savoury that your baby is bound to love them…and so will you!

This recipe yields a large amount so if you prefer to make it only for baby I’d halve the recipe.  My motto, however, is “go big!” Why not make a huge batch and save some for leftovers or freeze in baby cubes for a quick go-to side dish?!

Ingredients
(Yields about 3 cups, cooked)
4 lg. carrots, peeled
1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp. butter
1/2 medium red onion, finely diced
4 tbsp. brown rice syrup (or sugar)
3 tbsp. apple cider vinegar (or balsamic)
1 tsp. grated or pureed ginger (or adjust the amount to taste)
salt and pepper to taste

The original recipe calls for steaming the carrots (chopped in quarters) in a double broiler for 10-12 minutes or until fork tender.  Once cooled, chop into 1-2 pieces then add to the cooked onions and heat through for about 2 minutes coating with the glaze.

*I would make THIS version so I could set aside a portion of plain carrots to purée for baby as a first food. 

Here’s the “toddler-friendly” updated version:

Cut carrots lengthwise and in half then chop into 1-2 inch pieces.  (They look large but will shrink to perfect bite-size pieces during the cooking process.)

Mix brown rice syrup, apple cider vinegar, and ginger in a small bowl and set aside.

In a medium frying pan, melt oil and butter on medium heat.  Once melted, add onions and cook for about 2-3 minutes.

Add carrots and glaze and continue to cook on medium heat (covered) for another 20-25 minutes or until the carrots are fork tender. (Cooking times may vary depending on the size of the carrots.) * If the onions brown too quickly simply lower the heat to medium-low.

Purée carrots in a food processor for baby or serve as bite-size chunks to older tots.

“DID YOU KNOW…?”
Ginger is known for its health benefits and is used in many home remedies.  For example, ginger tea is a common remedy for colds and also relieves symptoms of nausea.  For a list of home remedies using ginger look here: http://www.disabled-world.com/artman/publish/ginger.shtml