Carluccio’s Carrots

In 2001, just before I went on maternity leave, one of my Year 9 tutees gave me a signed copy of Antonio Carluccio’s newly-published book ‘Vegetables’. His simple recipe for carrots with garlic has accompanied almost every roast dinner we have eaten since, and is the reason I break out into a cold sweat when our supply of balsamic vinegar runs out.

Very sadly, at time of writing, in the thick of the coronavirus crisis, Carluccio’s restaurant chain has just collapsed into administration.

Serves 4

Ingredients

600g carrots, peeled and cut into rounds about 5mm thick
4 tbsp good olive oil
6 whole fat garlic cloves, unpeeled
20g caster sugar
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp finely chopped parsley
salt

Method

Put the carrots with the oil into a heavy pan with a lid, add a pinch of salt and cook for 10 minutes, stirring from time to time. Add the unpeeled cloves of garlic and cook for at least 25 minutes over the lowest possible heat – the oil must still bubble through. Then add the sugar and vinegar, and let evaporate a little before adding the parsley.