5 Ingredients or Fewer

Carrots Cooked Forever, à la Roy Finamore

by:
September 13, 2012
4
4 Ratings
Carrots Cooked Forever, à la Roy Finamore
Photo by Rocky Luten
  • Serves 8 as a side dish, baby for about a week
Author Notes

I've discovered that pretty much any vegetable can be cooked in this manner—lots of olive oil and garlic, and long, slow cooking—and it will turn out well. Great for grown-ups, great for babies, great for all. —Merrill Stubbs

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 1 pound carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
  • 2 fat cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
  • Salt
Directions
  1. Combine the olive oil, carrots, garlic, and a couple small pinches of salt in a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Set it over medium heat and bring the oil to a simmer. Give the carrots a good stir, cover the pot, and turn the heat down as low as it will go.
  2. Cook the carrots, stirring gently every once in a while, until the slices are soft enough that they can be smushed easily by gently pinching them between your fingers. (This should take anywhere from 1 to 2 hours.) If at any point you find that the carrots start to stick to the pan and brown, gently lift them from the bottom of the pan, add a few tablespoons of water and re-cover.
  3. When they are very soft, you can serve them as is. Or, if you're feeding a baby (or you just like them this way yourself), you can either mash the carrots gently or push them through a fine-mesh sieve before serving them. Make sure to let them cool before you feed them to a baby!
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13 Reviews

Smaug
Smaug December 19, 2023
I've always preferred carrots cooked until very soft- it can take a long time, but if they're frozen first you're most of the way there. My mother once tried adding sugar to carrots- something she read somewhere, I suppose- huge mistake.
 
xiao_lan
xiao_lan August 22, 2022
One of the few instances where my favorite way to cook something is also the easiest. Bravo!
 
ljd
ljd November 27, 2020
Seriously? One-third cup of oil? I had to spoon off a gobs of oil after the carrots cooked. I should have realized from the beginning - ⅓ cup oil for 1 lb carrots is way out of proportion. it was disgusting. Also, as another reviewer noted, there is no way this would have served 8 people, although I didn't serve it at all.
 
Rob S.
Rob S. December 5, 2019
I made this three times now and every time it's always amazing. My husband thought it would be like eating baby food but was pleasantly surprised. You get this wonderful sweetness from the carrots and the garlic (which is rendered subtle due to the long, slow cooking time) . It's a terrific dish and so easy to make.
 
delbor
delbor February 10, 2018
Serves 8? One pound of carrots? Seriously?
 
marsiamarsia
marsiamarsia August 15, 2014
Since I was a kid, I have never liked carrots. But I really REALLY liked these! Thank you for the lovely recipe. Once a friend made some carrots that I could tolerate; they had tarragon in them. So to make this recipe a bit more grown-up, I added about one teaspoon of tarragon and a dash of sherry vinegar at the end. Divine!
 
DECarro44
DECarro44 September 12, 2013
I wonder if this would come out as well in a slow cooker….I'll have to try it.
 
Merrill S.
Merrill S. September 12, 2013
I haven't tried it -- let me know how it goes if you do!
 
Nick K.
Nick K. September 3, 2013
My mother did this for me as a kid a long time ago! She swears I even turned slightly orange... Excellent recipe, and with the carrots, an easy one with which to tinker. Maple syrup, brown sugar, honey, fresh herbs - all easy additions, depending on what you have on hand.
 
Merrill S.
Merrill S. September 3, 2013
I ate a lot of carrots growing up, and my mother swears the same thing!
 
Riegan
Riegan September 3, 2013
Me too. My mother says I turned orange from all the beta carotene in the carrots and sweet potatoes- it definitely can happen. http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/can-much-betacarotene-cause-yellow-skin-2041.html
 
ambivalent
ambivalent September 1, 2013
nice?
 
darksideofthespoon
darksideofthespoon October 10, 2012
After feeding my daughter Red Beets, Sweet Potatoes, Kale, Squashes, Avocado I'm finally moving onto Carrots! Making these now, just with very little salt. I'm sure she'll love them, my baby is evidently a future foodie - she loves eating!