Vichy carrots

  • Portion size: Serves 6-8
  • Hands-on time 10 min. Simmering time 20 min
  • Difficulty: easy
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Have you ever tried vichy carrots? This classic French technique is our favourite way to cook carrots, whatever the time of year. It’s particularly good at Christmas – especially when you add star anise, thyme and lemon to give the dish a bright sweetness.

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Before you start

Why these are the best carrots
Very vichy: Throwing some butter into the pan while the carrots cook is a wonderful way to add richness to the vegetables. They absorb the butter as they cook, rendering them sweet and soft rather than waterlogged and limp.

Go for the glaze: Simmering the carrots in a wide, open pan rather than a deeper saucepan means the water can evaporate away quickly, leaving the butter behind – which glazes the carrots towards the end of cooking ((it’s a cheffy French technique, hence the term ‘vichy’).

A bright idea: A pinch of sugar amplifies the carrots’ sweetness, lemon zest and juice gives them a bright tang and the star anise lends a subtle aromatic note which really complements the vegetable.

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Ingredients

  • 2 star anise
  • 1kg carrots, scrubbed and cut into 4-5cm batons
  • 80g unsalted butter
  • Pinch caster sugar
  • Finely grated zest and juice 1 lemon
  • Thyme leaves to sprinkle, plus extra to garnish
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Method

  1. Set a large frying pan or sauté pan over a medium heat. Add the star anise and toast for about a minute until fragrant. Add the carrots, butter, sugar and lemon zest, plus a good pinch of salt. Pour in enough water to almost cover the carrots.
  2. Bring to the boil and simmer briskly, stirring every now and then, for 15-20 minutes until all the water has evaporated, the carrots are just tender and they’re coated in a buttery glaze.
  3. Squeeze in half the lemon juice and scatter over the thyme leaves. Stir, then transfer to a serving dish. Garnish with more thyme and serve with the remaining lemon half.
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Nutrition

  • 130kcals Calories
  • 8.7g (5.3g saturated) Fat
  • 0.7g Protein
  • 9.7g (9.2g sugars) Carbs
  • 4.9g Fibre
  • 0.1g Salt
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