Carrot Caviar with Tomato Paste

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   How do you make carrot caviar? First, gather all your ingredients.

2. Step 2:

   

   Peel the carrots, onion, and garlic and rinse them in clean water.

3. Step 3:

   

   Thin the tomato paste with water to the consistency of light sour cream. For my 200 grams of paste it took about 150 ml of water. Stir until smooth.

4. Step 4:

   

   Pour the paste into a small pot and add the rinsed bay leaf and allspice.

5. Step 5:

   

   Pour in a little more than half of the vegetable oil, saving the rest for frying the carrots.

6. Step 6:

   

   Stir everything together well.

7. Step 7:

   

   Cut the onion into small dice.

8. Step 8:

   

   Add it to the tomato mixture.

9. Step 9:

   

   Set the pot over high heat; once it shows the first signs of boiling, turn the heat down to low and simmer, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft. This takes about 20–30 minutes.

10. Step 10:

    

    Meanwhile, turn to the carrots. Grate them on a fine grater.

11. Step 11:

    

    Pour the remaining vegetable oil into a skillet, add the carrots, and set it over high heat. Fry the carrots for 4 to 5 minutes (stir occasionally so nothing burns).

12. Step 12:

    

    Pour in a little boiling water, stir, and simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes, until the carrots are soft.

13. Step 13:

    

    Check the tomato sauce — the liquid should have reduced somewhat and the sauce thickened a bit.

14. Step 14:

    

    Grate the garlic on a fine grater, add it to the sauce along with salt to taste, and stir well. You can leave out the garlic — the dish is just as good without it.

15. Step 15:

    

    Add the tomato sauce to the skillet with the carrots.

16. Step 16:

    

    Stir and simmer everything together for about five minutes. Taste the caviar and add more salt if needed. Some recipes call for a little sugar; I usually skip it, since to me the carrots are sweet enough on their own. Add sugar to taste if you like.

17. Step 17:

    

    There are two ways to finish the caviar. One is to leave the carrots in the skillet and simmer, covered, over low heat for 30 minutes. I prefer the other option — finishing it in the oven. Spread the caviar in an even layer in an ovenproof dish, cover it with foil, and put it into a preheated oven at 275–325°F (140–160°C, conventional setting) for about half an hour.

18. Step 18:

    

    The temperature may vary with your oven. Importantly, the caviar shouldn't fry — it should gently cook through at a low temperature. Here's what the finished carrot caviar looks like.

19. Step 19:

    

    You can keep this spread in the refrigerator for up to 6–7 days.

20. Step 20:

    

    If we don't manage to eat it all, I usually portion it into small freezer bags, 2–3 tablespoons each, and freeze it — that way it keeps as long as possible. When I need to throw together a solyanka or another tomato soup, I add the frozen carrot caviar to the pot at the point where you'd normally add the sautéed base, cook the soup another 5–7 minutes, and take it off the heat. It comes out delicious, hearty, and rich!