Vegetable: Carrot

Recipes:
Five-a-day tagine
Fennel and carrot coleslaw
Carrot, cashew nut and red lentil patties
Carrot Pilau with Dates
Spiced Carrot and Celery Soup
Carrots
Carrot kugel (Carrot pudding)
Broad Bean & Pasta Salad
Tomato Salsa
White Bean and Cavolo Nero Soup
Mixed Bean Stew with Herb Dumplings
Roasted Vegetables with Cardamon
Glazed carrots
Markus’s Root Veg Slaw

Type: There are over 100 varieties, and they come in most of the colours of the rainbow - the original being purple, the most common, obviously, orange. From the Umbelliferae family, along with parsnips, fennel, celery, celeriac, parsley and dill.

Vitamin and mineral content: Excellent source of vitamin A. Good source of vitamins K, C and B6, and minerals including iron, potassium, magnesium, manganese and folic acid.

Reputedly good for: Though it's hard to prove that carrots make you see in the dark, there is evidence to suggest that beta carotene is important in promoting healthy vision. There have also been studies that suggest carrots help the body fight heart disease and keep your lungs healthy.

Availability: With so many varieties, carrots can be grown pretty much all year round, perhaps petering out towards the end of spring.

Storage: Best kept cool, and if possible with soil on, as this protects the delicate skin and prolongs their shelf life considerably. It's also a good idea (and less space invading) to twist off the leafy tops, as this encourages the carrot root to dehydrate.

Preparation: Delicious and nutritious raw, steamed, roasted, grated - no wonder patriots were urged to 'dog for victory' during WW2, when housewives were encouraged to use the sweet-tasting, nutrient-rich, versatile carrot to make anything from Carrolade (a drink) to carrot fudge.

Origins: Thousands of years ago, the people of Asia and the Middle East were eating a dark purple root - the original carrot. Taken up in the Mediterranean region, and with particular vigour by the Romans, it doesn't appear to have made it to the rest of Europe until the Renaissance. Once less fibrous varieties were developed though, there was no stopping the humble carrot, and it's now used pretty much worldwide. The United States, France, England, Poland, China and Japan produce them in particularly large quantities.