“Sicily is a land of citrus plenty, giving the Spanish city of Seville a run for its money when it comes to the cultivation of oranges. It is said that blood oranges originate on the island because of Mount Etna, whose volcanic temperature vacillations change the colour of the fruits’ flesh.”

^{-Mina Holland, The Edible Atlas: Around the World in Thirty-Nine Cuisines}

These carrots go particularly well with duck, and they are very simple to make. The method below is dead simple.

If you want something a little richer glaze your carrots as the French-Canadian chef, Madame Benoit, suggests by adding a couple of teaspoons each of lemon juice and cider vinegar, and also adding a teaspoon of flour. Add this to the butter when you fry the carrots.

Recipe for carrots cooked  in blood orange juice

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 450g/1 lb carrots
• butter for frying
• 120ml/½ cup blood orange juice (or juice and zest of an orange)
• 2 teaspoons of honey
• thyme
• 1 tsp smoked salt
• salt and pepper
• chopped parsley – optional

Method

1. Scrape the carrots without too much care using a potato peeler – make sure they are clean. Cut off the stem at the top, get rid of any flayling roots.
2. Slice them diagonally or into fat chips.
3. Fry them in the butter in a saucepan for three or four minutes, stirring.
4. Add the rest of the ingredients, bring to the boil, and simmer for ten minutes or until they are cooked.
5. snip over an parsley you may have to hand.