I'm not a big fun of carrots. I eat them, but I don't like to eat them in a large quantity. Unfortunately, I have a bad habit of picking up beautiful heirloom (?) carrots from farmers' markets; it's just really hard to resist the happily grown, lacy leaves (that you don't see too often in supermarkets) and the unusual palletes ranging from pearly white to striking vermilion to rich burgundy. Since the farmers' market carrots tend to have even stronger flavor, I always end up with my purchase patiently waiting for their turn in the fridge--often for weeks. (Good thing they don't go bad quickly.)

Today, I was determined to clear the fridge of the beautiful, burgundy-colored carrots that I'd picked up weeks ago. There were six good-sized ones, so a drastic measure was in order. Remembering the amazing transformation of the root veggies in a slow-cooked hash, I decided to do something similar, but this time with an Asian twist. (Come to think of it, I think I got the carrots when I did the hash; which makes the carrots three-week old. Sigh...) The main was to be shiitake mushrooms stuffed with ground chicken, Vietnamese pink mint (that tastes like Japanese shiso), and ginger, so a side of slow-cooked carrots in Thai red curry sauce would be a nice accompaniment.

Slow-Cooked Carrots with Thai Red Curry Sauce (for two)

• 6 carrots
• 1/4 onion, chopped
• 1/3 cup coconut milk
• 1/3 tablespoon Thai red curry paste
• 1 teaspoon lime peel, minced or ground (optional)
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds, ground
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• butter or vegetable oil
• 3 sprigs fresh cilantro, chopped

First, wash the carrots and cut them into bite-sized chunks. Heat a generous amount of butter or vegetable oil in a heavy frying pan, and sautée the garlic and onion. When they're half translucent, add carrots. Stir to coat the carrots with butter (or oil), then arrange the carrots on the pan so that every piece is touching the pan. Sprinkle the coriander seeds. Turn the heat down and cook slowly, without stirring. Every once in a while, turn the carrots to ensure that all sides are browned.

Meanwhile, mix the coconut milk, red curry paste and lime peel in a bowl. After about 30 minutes of slow-cooking (or when the carrots are cooked through and the onions are nicely caramelized), pour the mixture into the frying pan. Let the sauce simmer and thicken for a minute or two. Serve in a bowl or on a plate, and garnish with fresh cilantro. It does take about half an hour for the carrots to slowly release its sweetness, but that doesn't mean that you have to tend the pan every single minute of it. I managed to make the stuffed shiitake mushrooms and miso soup while the carrots cooked. This is a let-the-stove-do-its-job-while-I-do-mine kind of recipe.

As was the case with the root veggie hash, the slow cooking on low heat brought out the natural sugar in the carrots, while the tang and heat of the Thai red curry livened up the sweetness. There wasn't a hint of that green, pungent flavor typical of carrots--this might be a disappointing dish if you love that flavor, but even for a carrot lover, I think the surprising sweetness within the carrots that the slow-cooking brings out would be pleasurable. I wonder if you could pass this dish to your carrot-hating kids without them rejecting it--it doesn't taste like carrots at all, but then again, kids are freakishly keen observers when it comes to foods they don't like. I've read enough accounts of failed attempts to "hide" a detested ingredient in an innocent-looking dish. One thing for sure is, though, that once a carrot hater puts this in his/her mouth, the toughest hurdle has been cleared.

We successfully defeated the six remaining carrots with this wonderfully comforting dish--just in time for a next bunch from the Green City Market on Wednesday!