Carrots, so good for you, and so good

Rosh Hashanah is coming up this weekend, which leads to questions about which vegetables make a savory and delicious side dish for the holiday beef brisket.

Carrots, of course. Not only are they  traditional (always tread softly when you mess with the side dishes for a holiday meal), they are also good for you — and for those who care about eating locally grown produce, the carrots being pulled from the ground now are particularly sweet, having experienced a little bite of cold weather.

Carrots have long been famous for improving your eyesight (especially your night vision), mainly because they are loaded with beta carotene (which also helps prevent macular degeneration).

They also protect your heart, thanks to an abundance of the carotenoids that are found in most of the yellow and orange vegetables. Carrots have more carotenoids than almost any other fruit or vegetable.

Here’s an interesting and surprising fact: Although, crunchy fresh carrots are delicious, they are, apparently, not as good for you as cooked carrots.

A study quoted at cancerproject.org claims that cooking carrots (and, especially, puréeing them) can increase their cancer-fighting power by as much as three times.

“Researchers report that heating and softening the carrot’s tissue allows cancer-fighting phenolic compounds attached to the cell wall to be released,†the Web site reports. “And, keeping the outer skin on carrots, as with other vegetables and fruits, retains numerous extra cancer-fighting compounds.â€

Puréeing carrots is as easy as puréeing any other root vegetable: boil your unpeeled carrots (give them a good scrubbing to get any dirt off, of course) or, for more flavor, roast them at a low heat (around 325 degrees, so they remain relatively tender). Then purée them with some orange juice or maple syrup; a bit of heavy cream; and some coarse salt, freshly ground pepper and nutmeg and/or cayenne pepper or paprika.

To add more complexity, try roasting some parsnips with your carrots and purée them together; you’ll get a more complex but slightly more sour flavor.

If you are one of the many Americans who think purées are baby food, try braising your carrots. Mark Bittman recommends that you simmer your carrots in a mix of fat and liquid (preferably butter and orange juice). Cook them in a covered skillet or low saucepan, until they’re almost tender; then remove the lid and cook them uncovered and the liquid, fat and juices from the carrots will come together in a smooth, finished sauce. Sprinkle some chopped parsley on top and serve warm.

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