I know lots of people who don’t like cooked carrots. And I understand why. There’s nothing more blah and boring than squishy, sweet carrot mush. For years I only ate them raw or lightly steamed, or chopped finely as a base for soups and sauces. But ever since I’ve discovered that you can roast carrots, I can’t get enough of the cheerful little buggers. Today I experimented a bit, and came with this recipe. The carrots are roasted for quite long, which makes them pleasantly soft but also gives them a nice hearty flavor. The spices, lemon juice and honey add some interest. If you’re one of those people who claims to not like carrots, I encourage you to try these.
I served these together with my favorite lentil salad, some delicious pita breads, some garlicky yoghurt sauce and a bit of harissa on the side. Check the notes for the sauce recipe.
Roasted spiced carrots
- 500 gr/1 pound carrots, washed, peeled if necessary, and sliced diagonally into 5 cm/2 inch pieces
- 2 generous pinches of cumin seeds, roughly ground up (I use my pestle and mortar for this), or 1 pinch cumin powder
- a few grinds of nutmeg, or a generous pinch of ground nutmeg
- a pinch of cinnamon
- a pinch of salt
- a few grinds of pepper
- 1 to 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon of honey or – for vegans – brown sugar
- a squeeze of lemon
Preheat oven to 200 C/400 F.
Mix everything together in a bowl and spread out on a baking tray in a single layer. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until carrots are soft and browned.
CHOMPTASTIC!
Note:
- For the yoghurt sauce: mix 1 cup of greek or turkish yoghurt with a squeeze of lemon, a pinch of salt, a teaspoon of dried dill (or 2 teaspoons fresh, chopped dill) and 2 cloves of garlic (pressed or very finely chopped). Mix together and allow the flavors to mingle for at least half an hour.