Caramelized Baby Carrots, Prickly Pear Cactus Syrup

Caramelized Baby Carrots, Prickly Pear Cactus Syrup

Caramelized Baby French Carrots
Prickly Pear Cactus Syrup
Scallions, Mint, Dill, Pine Nuts, Edible Flower Petals

There aren’t many Easter posts on Taste With The Eyes, because, you know, we celebrate Passover here… I’ve already shared my new matzoh ball recipe, and have a fabulous cold poached salmon with 3 horseradish sauces in the wings.

But today, Easter Sunday, I had some beautiful Baby French Carrots on hand, so they were roasted with Prickly Pear Cactus Syrup (we live in the desert after all) and they turned out surprisingly delicious. Sweet, savory, nutty, herby. I dressed them up for Spring with some flower petals, and I think they would make a fabulous Easter side dish.

Extending my best wishes to you, my friends, for a glorious Easter.

Caramelized Baby Carrot Recipe

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Happy Easter & Eggs

Passover Seder Plate
Which Includes The Beitzah (Roasted Egg)
I would like to wish a very Happy Easter to all of you who are celebrating tomorrow! May it be a glorious day for you and your families, full of blessings and love.
For our family, Passover began at sundown this past Wednesday. Needless to say, I had been quite busy shopping, cooking and preparing for Passover. I look forward to sharing more about our Passover meal in an upcoming post. Today, in honor of Passover and Easter, I thought it might be neat to put together a compilation of some of the egg dishes that have been featured on Taste With The Eyes.

My nephew, Stone, peels the hard-boiled eggs for Passover.
Passover
The Beitzah (roasted egg) on the Seder Plate reminds us of the the festival offering brought by our ancestors to the Temple in Jerusalem. It is a symbol of life and the perpetuation of existence. At the Seder in our home, we serve hard-boiled eggs with the first course, which can be dipped in salt water, representative of the Israelites’ tears over suffering and slavery.
Easter
Throughout history, eggs have been associated with Easter celebrations. The egg is seen as symbolic of the grave and life renewed or resurrected by breaking out of it. A red colored-egg symbolizes the blood of Christ redeeming the world and human redemption through the blood shed in the sacrifice of the crucifixion. The egg itself is a symbol of resurrection: while being dormant it contains a new life sealed within it. (from Wikipedia)
If you have something to share regarding the symbolism of the egg in your religion or culture please leave a comment, it would be very interesting to hear about it.


PASSOVER ROUND-UP 2009

It’s not too late to join in the Passover Round-up 2009! It will post on April 17th. If you participated in a Seder this year, I hope you will join us. Please send me a photo of your Seder plate, Passover dish(es), or your Passover table. There are no rules to take part, just email your photo to tastewiththeeyes AT cox DOT net, and tell me a little about you and your Seder photo.
Wishing you a very special Easter.
“Easter spells out beauty, the rare beauty of new life.”
– S.D. Gordon

P.S. In honor of Easter, you might enjoy the beautiful photos and interesting text on the blog of my dear friend of many years, Father Adam. It’s called Monastery Daily Photo: Views From and Within a Roman Catholic Monastery in Northern California.

Pistachio Crusted Lamb, Pomegranate Glaze

Costata d’agnello incrostato con pistacchio
Con una glassa de melagrana


Pistachios and panko bread crumbs are ground in the food processor with salt, pepper, and olive oil to get the right consistency for encrusting the meat.


The lamb rack is seasoned then encrusted and baked at 350 for about 25 – 30 minutes. This lamb is cooked to medium, adjust cooking time to your temperature preference, then let the lamb rest.


The chops are sliced and served here with mashed potatoes. Drizzle the tangy warm pomegranate glaze over the meat.


On Lamb, Pistachio, and Pomegranate in Italy:

Easter Nears, And That Means…
Lamb in Italy: It’s the one thing you can be almost certain to find on the table come Easter Sunday.

Emperor Vitellius brought the pistachio to Rome in A.D. 50. He would finish off his meal by stuffing his mouth full of pistachios. Pistachios are currently cultivated as a commercial crop Italy.

The pomegranate made its way to Italy via Carthage (Punic), and therein lies the root of its Latin name, Punicum malum (apple). Its current botanical name is Punicum granatum with Punicum recognizing Carthage as a focal point for pomegranate cultivation and granatum referring to the many seeds or grains in the fruit. Many Italian Renaissance fabrics boasted the pattern of cut pomegranates. Ancient Romans not only enjoyed the succulent flesh of this fruit, they also tanned and used the rinds as a form of leather.

Lore and legends source: http://homecooking.about.com

Festa Italiana:

As much as I love to cook Italian food, I am, alas, not of Italian decent. And I was wondering what to bring to a virtual Italian festival?
I have no lovely memories of Italian childhood dishes. Mom, I remember your Creamette’s Brand Elbow Macaroni with Margarine and torn slices of melting American Cheese was actually pretty good…but, not quite the same as, say, Simona’s Pasta al Burro e Parmigiano.

So…I decided to make my own recipe, with ingredients that are possibly used in the Italian kitchen. Here it is: This is my contribution to the table at the upcoming FESTA ITALIANA hosted by Maryann of Finding La Dolce Vita and Marie of Proud Italian Cook.

Grazie Molto! Thanks for inviting me 🙂

Happy to help clean up!