Skillet Carrots

SKILLET CARROTS WITH ONIONS AND Herbs adapted from Orangette.net

Molly says: For this recipe, I like to slice my onions from stem end to root end, like this, so that they keep their shape and integrity as they cook. When you slice onions the other way – across their equators, you could say – they tend to fall apart during cooking.

Olive oil

1 yellow onion, halved and sliced from root to stem, like this

Salt

2 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2 lb. carrots, sliced into ¼-inch-thick rounds

4 to 5 fresh thyme sprigs (marjoram or rosemary are great too!)

½ tsp. red wine vinegar, or to taste

Warm a large skillet over medium-high heat. When it’s hot, add a good amount of olive oil, enough to film the bottom of the pan. Add the onions – they should sizzle – stir to coat with oil. Salt lightly. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are softened but not browned. Add the garlic, reduce the heat to medium, and cook for a few more minutes, until the garlic is fragrant. Add the carrots, thyme, and a couple of generous pinches of salt, and stir to mix. If the carrots look dry, add a little more oil to lightly coat them; this dish needs more oil than you might think. Cover the pan and continue to cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the carrots are tender and the onions are very soft. (somewhere between 10 and 20 minutes.) Remove the pan from the heat, and discard the thyme sprigs. Sprinkle the vinegar over the carrots. Stir gently to incorporate: the vinegar should subtly brighten the flavor of the carrots without being discernible itself. Add more vinegar, if needed, and salt to taste.

Serve hot.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings