Most carrot spreads made with the Thermomix® taste of carrot and olive oil. This one tastes of ajvar. That is the difference. We tested many versions, and the 30 g of ajvar in this recipe card are not an afterthought. They are the reason the spread has depth.
The spread is vegan. It needs no cream cheese, no butter, no cream. The creaminess comes from the long cooking at 90°C: after 25 minutes at speed 2, the carrots are soft enough to dissolve completely when blended. If you buy 500 g of carrots and one red onion, you have everything you need.
Carrot Spread with the Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 10 ✓
- 1 red onion
- 1 garlic clove
- 500 g carrots
- 30 g olive oil
- 200 g water
- 30 g ajvar
- 1 tsp salt
- 3/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
- 3/4 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp curry powder
Instructions 0 / 5
-
1
Onion and garlic.
Peel the onion and garlic. Halve the onion and place it in the mixing bowl together with the garlic.
-
2
Sweat the carrots.
Wash, trim and cut the carrots into pieces, add to the mixing bowl and chop for 7 sec / speed 5. Push down with the spatula, add the oil and sweat for 8 min / 120°C.
-
3
Cook the remaining ingredients.
Add the water, ajvar, salt, pepper, curry powder and cumin to the mixing bowl and cook for 25 min / 90°C / speed 2.
-
4
Blend.
Blend the mixture for 30 sec / speed 5 to 10, increasing gradually.
-
5
Serve.
Leave to cool and serve.
Tip: In step 1, add 0.5 cm of fresh ginger to the mixing bowl. It works perfectly with the other ingredients.
Nutrition per serving
What 120°C does for the spread
The recipe starts with 8 minutes at 120°C. This step sweats the onion, garlic and carrot pieces in olive oil before the water goes in. We never skip this step. Sweating at that temperature builds roasted flavour that the long cook at 90°C simply cannot recover afterwards. If you leave this step out, you will notice it in the result.
For TM31 users: the TM31 only reaches 100°C manually. Use the Varoma setting for the sweating step instead, or briefly fry the onion and garlic in a pan and add them straight to the mixing bowl. On the TM5, TM6 and TM7 the recipe runs without any adjustment.
Do not rush to Turbo when blending
Increase the speed gradually: from speed 5 up to speed 10, not straight to Turbo. Going immediately to the highest speed does not catch the mixture evenly. You end up with pieces that are already finely blended on the outside while coarser chunks remain in the middle. Thirty seconds of gradually increasing speed is enough for a smooth consistency.
If you prefer a very fine spread, pass it through a fine sieve after blending. If you like a little texture, stop at speed 7.
Freeze it or make a double batch
The spread freezes well. We pour it into small screw-top jars once it has cooled and freeze any extra portions. Thaw overnight in the fridge, give it a stir, and it is ready. Stored in a clean jar in the fridge, it keeps for up to 10 days.
If you often put spreads on the table: our Ajvar Spread with the Thermomix® goes well alongside it. For a larger spread selection, add Hummus with the Thermomix®. For the spread itself, a Spelt and Carrot Bread with the Thermomix® works better than any toast, because bread and topping share the same base ingredient.
More sauce ideas with the Thermomix®? Browse our Thermomix® Sauces overview.
Blended raw or cooked long: why we chose the long route
Many carrot spread recipes chop raw carrots and mix them in 10 seconds with cream cheese or quark. That is quick, but it tastes exactly like that: raw carrot with a dairy product. We take the opposite approach. 25 minutes at 90°C breaks down the cell structure of the 500 g of carrots far enough that the natural sweetness is released and binds with the ajvar. Only then do we blend. The result is creamy without cream cheese, has depth without relying on curry powder, and stays vegan. If you are used to the quick cream cheese version, you will taste the difference at the first bite.
Goes well with: Baguette and sourdough bread.
Also worth a look: Parmesan and Walnut Spread with the Thermomix®.
