I’ve been on a mission to explore vintage recipes, especially some I’ve found in my mom’s recipe box. Copper Carrot Pennies is the latest I’ve tried and while some vintage recipes are best left in the past, this one is worth bringing back. A little sweet and a little sour, this chilled vegetable dish is a tasty addition to the dinner table.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links which help pay for website costs and my Earl Grey.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Read more here.

Copper Carrot Pennies

This is another one of those recipes I remember my mom liking that I never tried as a child. I’ve been taking meals to her and trying to tempt her appetite. By making some of her old favorites that she hasn’t had in many years, I’m hoping she’ll find some enjoyment in food again.

I found this in her recipe box. The back of the card has the rest of the recipe and says, “Fondly, Paula”. Paula and her husband, Bill, have been friends of my parents for many, many years. Bill and my dad went to college together. Great people! I love making recipes with a personal connection.

The recipe calls for an entire bunch of carrots but since I was just making this for my mom, I used four large carrots. I kept the same quantity of marinade so they look rather “soupy” in the pictures. The excess marinade makes a very tasty salad dressing, though, and I brought her a big container of prepared salad, too.

I think “Copper Carrot Pennies” would be a nice side dish for another vintage recipe, Tuna Noodle Casserole:

The sweet and sour flavor of the carrots would be a good counterpart to rich and creamy tuna casserole. And add a nice bit of color to the plate, as well!

Copper Carrot Pennies

Ingredients

1 bunch carrots, peeled and sliced in 1/4 inch rounds
1/2 green bell pepper, sliced
1/2 onion, chopped

Marinade

1/2 can condensed tomato soup
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup white vinegar
1/2 tsp. prepared mustard
1 dash Worchestershire sauce

Instructions

Boil sliced carrots in just enough water to cover, until just tender. Drain and set aside in bowl.
Cool slightly and add bell pepper and onion.
Mix remaining ingredients for marinade in saucepan. Bring to a boil, pour over vegetables, chill several hours and serve.

You may notice that I diced the bell peppers rather than slicing them. The bell pepper I had was a bit past its prime so I thought a smaller dice would be better. However, nice, crisp slices would made a prettier dish. You could also do thinly sliced onion rather than chopped.

And since we’re being honest here, that bowl is over 40 years old so the inside looks rather appalling. I had already put the veggies in the bowl when I noticed that it wasn’t going to look very good in a picture (It doesn’t look that bad in person). But I already had a kitchen full of dirty dishes and pans (I was making a few dishes to take to Mom) and I just didn’t feel like dirtying yet another. Let’s just keep things real here, okay? In fact, I should have taken a picture of the kitchen to share with you but it’s all clean now. Next time!