Russian Carrots

A simple candied-carrot dish from the meatless side of the book, built on a hot sugar syrup rather than butter and brown sugar. The sugar quantity is very high by current taste, and the method rewards attention at two points.

• Cut the sugar if you likeOne cup of sugar to two cups of carrots produces something closer to a confection than a vegetable. A third to a half cup gives a glaze that still reduces and browns properly.
• What "shortening" means hereIn a book of this vintage shortening is hydrogenated vegetable fat or lard. Butter works and tastes better, though it will brown faster; oil is the neutral substitute.
• Boiling the syrup 10 minutesTen minutes of boiling will concentrate the syrup considerably, possibly to thread stage or beyond depending on the pan and the heat, and it will thicken and colour quickly. Keep the heat moderate and watch it, since a concentrated sugar syrup can go from pale to burnt very fast.
• Adding carrots to hot syrupHave the carrots browned and ready before the syrup is done, and add them off the heat or with the pan pulled back. Wet vegetables dropped into boiling sugar spit hard.
• Dice size and timingA 1/2-inch dice needs roughly 10 to 15 minutes in the syrup to become tender. Smaller dice will collapse into the syrup; larger pieces stay firm at the centre after the liquid has reduced away.
• The final browning"Brown slightly" means letting the reduced syrup caramelise on the carrots at the end. Stir constantly at that stage, because there is almost no water left to protect the sugar from scorching.
• Pan choiceUse a heavy skillet or saucepan with a light-coloured interior so you can judge the colour of the syrup. Thin pans give hot spots that burn the sugar before the carrots soften.
• ServingFour servings as written, but treated as a sweet accent alongside a plainer plate it will stretch to six.