PARIS, July 8 — Every week Relaxnews asks a top chef to share some kitchen secrets about one of their favorite foods or ingredients. Katsuaki Okiyama, at the Abri in Paris, cuts to the carrot.

R: Why did you pick this ingredient? Katsuaki Okiyama: Because it's a seasonal product I like a lot. The appetizer I'm preparing for the Cafête Nationale du Fooding [a foodie fest in Paris] on Bastille Day [July 14] is called "Ricard Hot Râpé" [which, read aloud in French, sounds like "riz carottes rapées," i.e., rice with grated carrots].

R: Your most cherished carrot-cooking memory? KO: Carrots confit, made with lard

R: When are carrots in season? KO: At the beginning of spring.

R: What's the best way to cook carrots? KO: In lard.

R: What other foods can you cook carrots with for a great taste sensation? KO: Caramelized onions. It's sweet so it brings out the carrot flavor.

R: How do you serve carrots on your menu? KO: In a creamy carrot soup.

R: What kind of wine or liquor goes best with carrots? KO: Ricard (on the rocks and with water).

Recipe for carrots confit

Ingredients

5 carrots 1 sweet onion (minced) 50-70 g lard 1 tablespoon thyme and bay leaf 1 tablespoon fleur de sel

Recipe

Preheat oven to 110-130 °Celsius. 1. Peel carrots and chop into sticks. Dice onion. 2. Place carrot sticks and lard in frying pan and fry thoroughly. 3. Add onion and stir. 4. Add thyme and bay leaf. 5. On a plate, Sprinkle carrots with fleur de sel. 6. Cook in oven for 30–45 minutes. – AFP-Relaxnews