Light Carrot Dill Cream Sauce for Pasta ~ ElephantEats.com

First of all, let me say that Nate is officially back! Unfortunately there’s still no job, but he’s back nonetheless. While I’m happy to have him back, it was nice to have a fairly empty fridge rather than one stocked to the brim with Trader Joes. Have I mentioned the boy can eat?!

So I took it upon myself to clean out the refrigerator a bit before his arrival. During my cleaning I came across a bag of baby carrots that Nate had bought and never opened. Nate had given me a list of food to get for him before he got home and baby carrots was on it. He claimed the ones in the fridge, though unopened, were no longer edible.

Light Carrot Dill Cream Sauce for Pasta ~ ElephantEats.com

I wasn’t about to waste those carrots! Have you noticed that I’m big on not wasting? :) So when I was deciding on some sort of sauce to make for my homemade farfalle, I knew I wanted to include carrots. Plus, carrots scream Spring to me, and now that daylight savings has come and gone, I know the new season is right around the corner.

Farfalle is good with a cream sauce, so I decided I’d use the carrots pureed in a cream sauce, and then the addition of dill was a no-brainer for a fresh, light taste perfect for Spring!

This sauce is actually very low in calories for a cream sauce. I used carrots to bulk it up and thicken it, and it contains only low-fat milk, not cream. You’d never know from the taste though, the onions, garlic and lemon give it so much flavor!

Light Carrot Dill Cream Sauce for Pasta ~ ElephantEats.com

This recipe made about 3.5 cups of sauce. I found that 3/4 cup of sauce was plenty for the 6 oz of pasta that my farfalle recipe made.

6 oz is three proper servings….but in our household, 6 oz of pasta serves one Nate. So rather than making more pasta, I ate some of the sauce over spaghetti squash and it was delicious for what it was (I.e not pasta).

How beautiful is the color of this sauce? I just think it’s so perfect for Spring :)

Since this recipe made so much, I’m thinking I might use the rest of it in a lasagna. Maybe I’ll layer some zucchini and mozzarella in there? Yum!

Light Carrot Dill Cream Sauce for Pasta ~ ElephantEats.com

Light Carrot Dill Cream Sauce 

Print this recipe!

Yields 3.5 cups 

2 cups baby carrots (about 11 oz)
1 Tbsp butter
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp flour
1 3/4 cup 1% milk, divided
3 oz. light cream cheese
1/2 cup fresh dill, chopped
juice of 3/4 lemon
salt (start with 1/2 tsp) and pepper

Bring a pot of water to boil. Add carrots and cook 15 minutes or until soft when pierced. Remove carrots to bowl of food processor but leave water on a low boil so you can cook the pasta later.

Melt butter in the bottom of a medium saucepan. Saute onions until soft. Add garlic and cook another minute.

Whisk in 1/2 cup milk and the flour until smooth. Whisk in 1 cup more milk and bring to a boil, whisking often. When it comes to a boil, reduce to simmer and cook until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Add cream cheese to milk mixture and whisk til melted. Remove from heat and stir in dill. Set aside.

Add pasta to boiling water.

While pasta is cooking, puree carrots and 1/4 cup milk in a food processor until smooth. Add to milk mixture along with lemon juice, salt and pepper.

When pasta is done, drain and add sauce. (I found that 3/4 cup sauce covers 6 oz of pasta perfectly. So that means a pound of pasta should use about 2 cups sauce). However I recommend making a full recipe…the sauce is just so good!

Call me crazy, but I love cold weather. The first brisk day in autumn when I get to wear a sweater makes me the happiest girl. Sure, when the temps dip into the teens come winter, I try to avoid being outside for extended periods of time, but something about the frigid air is so refreshing.

But by mid-january, I’m kinda over all the layering. I’m over having to remember to take my scarf, hat, and gloves out the door every day (and freezing my face off on the days when I forget).  So when the weather hit the 50s the other day, I got a little giddy. I guess maybe I like spring more than I’d let on.

With the milder temperature days slowing creeping in, and the holidays approaching, I’ve been trying to come up with a recipe that just screams spring. I knew that in order to encompass this season completely, it had to be bright, fresh, warm, refreshing, light and airy. I wanted something that could be served at any spring holiday meal.

I was going to make something with squash but my mom told me that’s too wintry and suggested carrots. I knew right when she said it that I’d have to make some sort of carrot pudding/souffle.

The orange color is so bright it reminds me of all the beautiful flowers that start popping up at this time of year. I added a touch of orange zest and juice to give it a citrusy and fresh aroma.  The orange/carrot combo is a delicious one.

I wasn’t sure how it would turn out when it was in the oven, but as soon as I took it out I knew it was exactly what I wanted. Fluffy and delicious, it was everything I’d hoped.

I made this recipe with matzo meal instead of flour, and margarine instead of butter to be sure that it could translate well for Passover (not all recipes do), but obviously using flour and butter would work equally well, if not better and could be served for Easter brunch/dinner.


Carrot Orange Pudding Souffle

Recipe by Me

Print this recipe!

serves 6-8

1 3/4 lbs carrots, peeled and chopped
1 Tbsp fresh orange juice
1/2 cup margarine/butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
zest of 1 orange (about 1 Tbsp)
3 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp matzo meal/flour
Powdered sugar for garnish

Preheat oven to 350.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add carrots and cook til tender, about 30 min. Drain and transfer to a medium bowl. Mash with a potato masher or fork. Add orange juice and mix. Cool to room temp.

Using an electric mixer, beat margarine/butter til creamy. Beat in sugar and zest til blended. Add eggs and beat til blended and slightly more voluminous. Mixture may look curdled but that’s ok.

Add carrots to egg mixture and blend.

In a small bowl, combine salt, baking powder and matzo meal/flour. Stir completely to blend. Pour into a 2 quart baking dish.

Bake 1 hr 15 min or until top is golden brown. Best served at room temperature or cold. Dust with powdered sugar before serving if desired.

*Note, I double checked and baking powder IS kosher for Passover :)