Braised Carrots with Barley & Dill

By ltrodrigu

Ingredients

• For the Braised Carrots:
• 3 tablespoons grapeseed oil
• 12 carrots, peeled and ends trimmed
• 2 quarts chicken or beef broth, preferably homemade
• 1 bunch fresh thyme sprigs
• 2 bay leaves
• For the carrot miso purée:
• 3 tablespoons grapeseed oil, and a touch more
• 1 pound carrots, peeled and sliced into coins
• Salt
• 2 1/2 cups freshly pressed carrot juice
• 1/2 tablespoon white miso paste
• For the Barley Salad:
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons minced shallots
• 2 cups barley
• 4 cups chicken broth, preferably homemade
• 1 bay leaf
• Sea salt
• Lemon juice, to taste
• Chopped chives, for garnish
• Fronds from 1 bunch fresh dill
• For the Vinaigrette:
• Juice of 2 Meyer lemons
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Sea salt
• 2 tablespoons mascarpone or heavy cream

Details

Servings 4
Adapted from wsj.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Braise carrots: Heat grapeseed oil on stove in a large, lidded, ovenproof pan over high heat. Once hot, add carrots and cook, turning, until mahogany-brown on all sides. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate.

Wipe pan clean, then return to stove over high heat. Return carrots to pan. Add broth, thyme and bay leaves. Bring broth to a gentle simmer, then cover pan and transfer to oven. Cook carrots until tender, 10-20 minutes. (Smaller carrots may need less time to cook, larger ones longer.) Use tongs or a slotted spoon to transfer carrots to a platter.

Meanwhile, make Carrot-Miso Purée:
Heat grapeseed oil in a wide pan over medium heat. Add carrots and a pinch of salt and sweat, stirring constantly, until soft but not at all brown, about 10 minutes. Add carrot juice and cook until juice reduces and pan begins to look dry. At this point, carrots should be mushy. Transfer carrots and juice to a blender or food processor and purée on high. Add miso to taste. With motor running, drizzle in remaining grapeseed oil until emulsified. Set aside and keep warm.

Prepare Barley:
Heat oil in a wide skillet over low heat. Add shallots and sweat until soft. Add barley, stir to coat with oil and toast 2 minutes. Add stock and bay leaf to pan. Bring broth to a simmer, and cook until barley is still firm but starting to yield, 15 minutes. Season with salt to taste. Continue to cook at a lazy simmer until barley is tender, about 10 minutes more. Drain. Set aside and let cool to room temperature.

Make Vinaigrette:
In a bowl, whisk together lemon juice, olive oil and salt to taste, and mascarpone until emulsified. (The amount of oil you need will depend upon the intensity of the lemons’ acidity.)

To Serve:
Season barley to taste with sea salt and a squeeze of lemon juice. Garnish with chives. Arrange carrot purée, braised carrots and barley salad on each plate. Drizzle vinaigrette sparingly over carrots and barley. Garnish with dill.