Onion, celery, carrot – these three together – called a soffritto – form the base of a huge swathe of classic Italian dishes. That makes the humble carrot incredibly important to Italian culinary traditions; a sweated soffritto forms the base of many of the country's delicious dishes, such as Alessandro Gavagna's Roasted veal shin with potatoes.

These carrot recipes are those that specifically feature and celebrate this versatile vegetable for its sweet, earthy flavour and beautiful colour. Carrots were originally purple before being bred to be orange, something the Costardi Brothers celebrate in their Purple carrots dish, where they embellish the blanched, roasted and seared carrot with a simple lime crumb. That sweetness also helps carrots pair nicely with strong meat and game flavours, as Ciccio Sultano shows with his Pigeon with carrots recipe, as does Cristina Bowerman in her tongue pastrami sandwich.