My mum has been serving us carrot ribbons at Christmas for as long as I can remember. I can’t tell you why or how she decided to do them like this, she just did. And now, at Christmas, I feel a bit lost if I don’t have them.

I know roasted carrots is probably more traditional, but this way is a little bit lighter and, more importantly, frees up your all-important oven space as it’s all done on the stove. The best part? It takes about 10 minutes to make, so it can be thrown together at the last minute while your meat rests.

Orange and Almond Carrot Ribbons

Ingredients (serves 6+)
750g carrots
Zest and juice of 1 orange
30g toasted flaked almonds
Salt

Method
1. Peel your carrots, then use a potato peeler to go down the length of the carrot, creating thin strips or ribbons. Repeat with all of the carrots until you have a load of beautiful carrot ribbons! They don’t need to be perfect, and if you have a mandolin, you could use that instead.
2. Place the carrots in a large pot of salted water. Bring to the boil and cook for 5 minutes until the carrots are just turning tender. Drain and return the ribbons to the pan.
3. Add the zest and half the juice of the orange, season with salt to taste, and mix. Serve warm with the flaked almonds sprinkled on top. Boom, you’re done!