I’m sure you have heard the phrase "a marriage made in heaven", referring to people or things that are just made for each other. Well, today’s recipe fits that definition with some flavours that are just perfect together.
Sweet baby carrots, with hints of orange and coriander from a delicious Scottish take on a Bavarian wheat beer. Add some crumbled, creamy and salty feta and you have a delicious warm salad or side dish.
Now did you know that the first cultivated carrots were purple, yellow and white? They are now what are called heritage varieties. Originally, the taste would have been quite bitter, and they were prized by the Greeks and Romans for both the colour and their perceived medicinal qualities. The sweeter, orange carrots that we know today were developed in Holland around the 16th century.
My recipe works with any carrots but being a chef, I like the visual appeal of baby carrots. What’s more is baby carrot’s peak season starts in June, so they should be easy to find. So, we have our carrots and now for the beer: White Lady, 4.7 per cent ABV by Cairngorm. The brewery is based in the village of Aviemore, in the Scottish Highlands.
The team operates a 20-barrel brewhouse creating a range of core and seasonal cask and keg beers, including Champion Beer of Britain 2026 silver winner Wildcat and Champion Winter Beer of Britain 2025 winner Black Gold. The brewery has won numerous other awards, and you can try some of their beers in their small tasting room where you can prebook group tastings.
White Lady is a more contemporary clear Bavarian-style wheat beer. It was first launched in 2011 to celebrate 50 years of skiing in Scotland and the opening of the first chairlift on the Cairngorm mountain’s famed White Lady ski run. The beer is crisp and clean with orange peel and coriander adding fruit and spice to the flavour profile. The wheat provides a soft, smooth mouth feel. The bottled version of White Lady is suitable for both vegetarians and vegans and if you use a suitable alternative to feta, you can make the whole recipe vegan friendly.
Wheat beer braised carrots with honey and feta
500g baby carrots, washed and trimmed
50g feta cheese
1 bottle Cairngorm White Lady wheat beer
1 heaped tbs soft brown sugar
1 tbs unsalted butter
1 tbs sherry vinegar
5-6 coriander seeds
Small sprig of fresh coriander
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Crush the coriander seeds with the back of a spoon and place in a large shallow pan with half of the beer along with the sugar, butter, sherry vinegar and quarter of a teaspoon of salt. Bring to a rolling boil, add the carrots, and bring back to the boil. Stirring occasionally, cook until the carrots are soft but not floppy. Carefully remove and reduce the liquid to a syrup then turn off the heat. Place the carrots in a serving dish and drizzle with a couple of spoons of syrup. Top with crumbled feta, season with salt and pepper, and garnish with finely chopped coriander.
