Stir-Fried Carrots with Ginger, Lime, and Cilantro

Another fabulous recipe from Fast, Fresh, and Green. Again, it does take a bit of prep work to peel and chop all the carrots, but the dish comes together quickly once your mise-en-place is completed. When cooking the carrots, make sure not to stir the carrots too often or you won't get the flavorful carmelization and blackening that makes this dish so wonderful. As with  meat, there's a lot of flavor in the blackened parts; the carrots start to develop a warm, sweet, rich flavor before the butter is even added. I think this general approach would work well with other root vegetables with a tweak in the spices.

Stir-Fried Carrots with Ginger, Lime, and Cilantro
from Fast, Fresh, and Green by Susie Middleton
serves 4 

1 lb. slim carrots
1 T. peanut oil
1/2 yellow onion, halved crosswise and cut into thin strips
1 t. kosher salt
2 t. minced fresh ginger
1 t. minced fresh garlic
1/2 T. unsalted butter
1 1/2 t. fresh lime juice
1 to 2 T. chopped fresh cilantro, plus sprigs for garnish
1/2 lime, cut into 4 pieces

1. Trim and peel the carrots, and then slice them thinly or cut them into sticks. If slicing, cut them on an angle into ovals between 1/8- and 1/4-inch thick. Sticks should be between 1/4- and 3/8-inch thick and 2 to 3 inches long.

2. In a large 12-inch nonstick stir-fry pan, heat the peanut oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot (it will loosen up), add the carrots, onion, and salt and stir well with tongs. Turn the heat up to high and cook, stirring only occasionally and spreading the vegetables out after every stir, until the onion is limp and brown and the carrots are browned in place (they should have lost their stiffness, and some will be slightly blackened), 12 to 13 minutes.

3. Turn the heat down to low, add the ginger and garlic, and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Turn off the heat, add the butter, and toss and stir gently until it melts. Stir in the lime juice and as much of cilantro as you like. Serve each portion with a piece of lime, and garnish with cilantro springs, if desired.