Cenouras à Algarvia, Portuguese Marinated Carrots
Cenouras à Algarvia are the marinated carrots set out as a petisco in the bars of southern Portugal, the little dish that arrives with a drink before anyone has ordered. They lean on the same warm spicing as the region's older Moorish cooking, cumin and coriander and garlic, sharpened with vinegar and lit with piri-piri heat. Most recipes finish them with olive oil, but the carrots are already sweet from boiling, and a spoonful of their own cooking water is enough to carry the spices through the marinade. Carrots are one of the cheapest vegetables in the store, and a pound of them makes a bowl that feeds a table. They keep for the better part of a week in the fridge and only get better, so make the full batch.
Ingredients
- 1 lb Carrots, sliced into thick coins
- 4 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 tsp Cumin seed, toasted and ground
- 1 tsp Coriander seed, toasted and ground
- 1/2 tsp Smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp Cayenne
- 3 tbsp White wine vinegar
- 1 Bay leave
- 1/4 cup Cilantro, chopped
Method
- Boil the carrot coins in unsalted water with the bay leaf until just tender but still with a little bite, about 8 minutes. You want them cooked through but not soft, since they will keep absorbing the marinade and should hold their shape, not fall apart.
- Drain the carrots, saving 2 tablespoons of the cooking water, and discard the bay leaf. Let the carrots steam dry in the colander for a minute so their surface is not watery when it meets the marinade.
- Toast the cumin and coriander seeds in a dry pan until fragrant, about a minute, then grind them. Toasting whole seeds and grinding them fresh gives many times the aroma of pre-ground spice, and it is the backbone of this Algarve marinade.
- Stir the ground spices, garlic, smoked paprika, and cayenne into the reserved cooking water and vinegar to make a loose paste. Warming the spices in the carrot water blooms them and carries their flavor into every coin without any oil to do the job.
- Toss the warm carrots with the marinade and the cilantro, then let them sit at least 2 hours, or overnight in the fridge. This is a dish that is made by its rest: the garlic mellows, the acid sinks in, and the carrots taste of far more than carrots by the next day.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 55 calories, 2 g protein, 3 g fiber, 55 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
