A fast and straightforward recipe for carrots, cooked in a thrifty way to save on energy costs. The purple variety looks striking, but this could equally be made with any other type of carrot or some finely shredded beetroot, parsnip or celeriac instead.
Ingredients
- 2 purple carrots
- 1 large shallot or ½ a small red onion
- 250g ricotta
- 1 clementine
- 2 tsp freshly picked thyme leaves
- 300g puff pastry
- 1 tbsp maple syrup or honey
- 1 egg, beaten
- 30g toasted & chopped walnuts
- olive oil
- salt & pepper
Method
- Put a kettle on to boil. Peel the carrots and then use the peeler to pull them into long ribbon-like strips. Peel and finely slice the shallot. Place them in a heatproof mixing bowl with a generous pinch of salt, cover them in boiling water and leave then to sit for at least 10 mins while you prepare everything else.
- Put the ricotta into a separate bowl. Finely zest the clementine and add the zest to the ricotta along with the thyme and a seasoning of salt and pepper. Mix, taste and tweak the seasoning to your liking.
- Roll out the pastry and cut 4 circles about 15cm wide – roughly the diameter of a small side plate.
- Drain the carrots and shallots well. Toss with 1 tbsp olive oil, the maple syrup and a small squeeze of clementine juice.
- Divide the ricotta mix between the 4 pastry circles. Spread it out but leave a 2cm boarder around the edges. Pile the carrots and shallots on top of the ricotta and then fold in the edges with rough pleats. Brush the exposed pastry edges with beaten egg and use a spatula to lift them into the air fryer basket.
- Cook for 12-15 mins at 190°C, until the pastry is golden and the carrots have started to colour on the edges. Remove and garnish the top with the chopped walnuts. Serve warm.