Here’s how it often goes at dinner time on weeknights in my kitchen: My husband walks in, and if there’s no discernible aroma wafting across the room, he starts lifting lids on pans on the stovetop and looking in the fridge for leftovers before wondering out loud “What’s for dinner?”
On a recent Monday, the answer was something of a shocker, given his lifelong belief that every nighttime meal should include a starch, a vegetable and some sort of animal protein. In addition to a tender green salad dressed in a tangy, cheesy vinaigrette, there was a entree featuring the hardest working veggie in my refrigerator’s crisper drawer — carrots.
If you’re going to go vegetarian, this is the way to go. Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen’s vegetal take on the classic fruit-topped French dessert, Tarte Tatin, is nothing short of spectacular.
Carrots sauteed in butter with a little honey are always delicious, but when you also add a splash of balsamic vinegar, toss in a little goat cheese and tuck them into a tight circle on top of puff pastry, well, they’re something else entirely.