I like carrots, but when they’re part of a holiday meal, I think they should have a little pizzazz. Hence the creation of escovitch carrots. It’s a sweet and sour side dish, which is so interesting alongside other holiday dishes.

 

Escovitch Carrots by Diverse Dinners

 

There’s a lot of flavor to these carrots and it’s all about the dressing. The garlic, shallots, ginger, vinegar, pineapple juice, and agave makes them lip smacking good. The scotch bonnet in this recipe makes it spicy too, you can add more or less than the recipe asks for dependent upon your tolerance for spicy food.

My inspiration for escovitch carrots, came from the highly celebrated Caribbean dish, escovitch fish. It is highly celebrated because it is usually prepared during the Easter holidays, on Good Friday.

We love the Easter holidays in London, we have a four-day weekend and spend time with our families.

Many Caribbean families adhere to the religious tradition of abstaining from meat on Good Friday, and in London, we often prepare escovitch fish. Caribbean people are passionate about food and escovitch excites them. 

So I thought, why not add some excitement to a side dish, and escovitch carrots was born.

You won’t have to worry about dishing up boring side dishes this holiday season, escovitch carrots has you covered.

 

Print Recipe

Escovitch Carrots

Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Total Time1 hour

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp grapeseed oil
  • 1/2 cup rice vinegar
  • 1 cup pineapple juice
  • 4 tbsp agave
  • 2 cloves garlic sliced thin
  • 1 shallot sliced thin
  • 1 tsp fresh ginger minced
  • 1/2 scotch bonnet sliced thin
  • 1 1/2 lb carrots
  • Drizzle olive oil

Equipment & Utensils

  • Wide mouth measuring jug
  • Large baking tray
  • Long serving dish
  • Aluminum foil
  • Tongs

Instructions

  • Place grapeseed oil, vinegar, pineapple juice and agave in a wide mouth measuring jug and whisk to combine.
  • Add garlic, shallot, ginger, scotch bonnet and mix thoroughly, then set dressing aside.
  • Scrub carrots clean, then dry with paper towels and then place in one layer on a baking tray.
  • Generously drizzle carrots with olive oil, then place in a preheated oven at 375.
  • Cook for 35-40 mins until you can easily pierce carrots with a fork.
  • Remove carrots from oven, then pour 1/4 cup of the dressing over the carrots.
  • With some tongs, grab the pickled garlic, shallots, ginger and scotch bonnet from the dressing and distribute on top of the carrots.
  • Return to the oven for 5-10 minutes until the pickled ingredients have wilted.
  • Remove from oven, then place in serving dish.
  • Add another 1/4 cup of the dressing, then cover with aluminum foil to keep warm and allow to sit for 5-10 mins before serving.