Purple carrots contain anthocyanins, powerful antioxidants that may protect against heart disease, eye conditions and mental decline.
Purple Carrot offers all of the ingredients and instructions to create delicious dinner recipes at home, with two or four-serving options and add-on snacks available a la carte.
Roasted Purple Carrots
Purple carrots are sweet and delectable on their own, yet by adding butter, honey, or garlic powder they become even more delicious! Additionally, these nutritious veggies offer less nitrates than their orange or yellow counterparts!
Roasting vegetables is an effective way to bring out their natural sweetness while adding an earthy, caramelized taste. This easy dish makes a fantastic weeknight dinner option!
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper or foil. Layer purple carrots, thyme and garlic onto it and season it with salt and pepper before tossing to combine. Drizzle oil overtop before topping it off with miso paste, honey and tamari; toss again to evenly distribute. Place in oven and roast for 25 to 30 minutes before setting aside 1 TBSP of cooked pearl barley as well as some leaf end snow pea sprouts as garnish.
Purple Carrot Salad
Before orange carrots dominated supermarket shelves, luscious purple ones graced them too, providing equally sweet sweetness while providing vital nutrition. Purple carrots contain antioxidants called anthocyanins which give them their vibrant hue; use these beauties in this salad for an easy yet healthful lunch option!
Begin by making the dressing. Grate some fresh ginger into a bowl. Combine with rice vinegar, soy sauce and sesame oil, until everything is evenly combined. Rinse and scrub carrots before cutting diagonal slices using a vegetable peeler. Pour dressing over carrot slices; let marinate for 20 minutes before garnishing with chopped green onions and toasted sesame seeds for an attractive final presentation.
White miso paste combined with honey and tamari can be found in a medium sized mixing bowl. Combine with carrots seasoned with seasoning. When hot, transfer to an oil-coated skillet on medium high heat. After heating is complete, add your purple carrots, cooking until brown spots appear here and there. Set aside cooked barley and snow pea sprouts as serving options.
Purple Carrots in Tomato Sauce
Purple carrots make an eye-catching accent to this dish’s sweet tomato sauce, adding vibrant colors. Jarred tomatoes combined with orange and mandarin juice provide a fruity yet acidic balance, and some white miso paste provides additional salty depth and earthiness.
Purple carrots contain anthocyanins that may help prevent heart disease and mental decline (1), while orange carrots provide beta-carotene which the body converts into vitamin A that may also improve eyesight (2).
Any color carrot will work in this recipe. Or try switching out pearl barley for freekeh, bulgur wheat or Israeli couscous; swapping out snow pea sprouts for broccoli or mung bean sprouts adds extra crunch if necessary; alternatively use chopped nuts if pepitas cannot be found (3); otherwise purple carrots roast beautifully when baked!
Purple Carrots in Vinegar
Purple carrots not only look stunning, but their unique flavor and impressive nutritional profile makes them a fantastic addition to salads, soups and stews.
These veggies have twice as much beta-carotene for conversion to vitamin A by the body than orange carrots do, as well as powerful anthocyanin antioxidants which have been proven to reduce inflammation and inhibit cancer cell formation. Plus, adding them to your diet will help you lose weight more easily.
For this recipe, roast purple carrots are combined with cooked pearl barley and snow pea sprouts in a tamari and white miso marinade to maximize their natural sweetness while adding other flavours. The end result is an energy-filled plant-based meal that will leave you feeling satisfied for hours to come!