Purée of Carrots is a traditional British recipe, based on Charles Elmé Francatelli's recipe of 1861, for a classic garnish or accompaniment of carrots cooked in stock with butter and an onion that are pureed and finished with butter, meat glaze and brown sugar. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Purée of Carrots.
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This is a classic recipe for a Victorian version of Purée of Carrots that's derived from the chef, Charles Elmé's 1861 volume, The Cook's Guide and Housekeeper's & Butler's Assistant. Below you will find both the recipe in its original form and a modern redaction.
Original Recipe
No. 116.—PUREE OF CARROTS
Scrape six carrots clean, and then shave off all the red part, which having parboiled for a few minutes, drain dry and put into a small stewpan with a pat of butter, nutmeg, pepper, and salt, one small onion, and a gill of stock; allow this to simmer gently on the fire until the carrots become quite soft to the touch, and the liquor is absorbed by boiling down; pound this in a mortar, rub it through a sieve, remove it into a small stewpan, season with a bit of glaze, and a pat of butter, and a teaspoonful of sugar; make the purée hot, and pile it in the centre of cutlets, &c., and serve.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
6 carrots, scraped clean and shredded
1 1/2 tsp butter
freshly-grated nutmeg, to taste
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
1 small onion, chopped
140ml stock
1 tsp meat glaze, as made in the economy of second stocks or broth recipe
1 1/2 tsp butter
1 tsp brown sugar
Method:
Combine the carrots, butter, onion and stock in a pan. Season to taste then bring to a boil and continue cooking for about 20 minutes, or until the carrot pieces are very soft and all the liquid has been absorbed. Take off the heat and turn into a food processor. Process until smooth then pass through a fine-meshed sieve, pressing down with the back of a spoon to make a smooth purée.
Scrape the carrot purée into a pan then add the meat glaze, butter and sugar. Place on the heat and when the purée is hot serve as a garnish or accompaniment for meat dishes.
