November 7, 2019 Serves 4
My association with cooked carrots is not a good one. I remember the bland, mushy texture of the cooked carrots of my youth and that was enough to keep me away for decades. Until these. These are earthy, slightly sweet, and well, perfect. Just follow the easy steps by food goddess Dorie Greenspan. She is one of my favorite chefs and cookbook authors because she's so down to earth and her recipes are always accessible, tasty, and easy to follow. She really makes you feel like you can do anything. The only adjustment I made to this recipe was to add a bit more cayenne and salt to the mixture before tossing with the carrots. We ate/devoured these at room temperature.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoon smoked paprika (a.k.a. pimenton)
1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt (or more to taste)
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more to taste)
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
2 pounds carrots, scrubbed, rinsed and dried well (I used a few bunches of multicolored carrots. Cut off most of the green stems, but retain about 1 inch for looking pretty purposes).
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425° F and line a baking tray with parchment or foil.
Whisk together the vinegar, paprika, salt, cumin and cayenne. Taste and adjust for seasoning.
Add the honey and drizzle in the olive oil, mix very well so the oil is completely incorporated.
Toss the carrots in the vinegar mixture and arrange on the baking sheet, leaving enough room in-between. If they are too crowded, or bunched together and on top of each other, there is the danger of them steaming rather than getting that nice charred color and flavor.
Roast the carrots for 20 minutes, flip them over, and return to the oven for another 20-30 min. Check them for doneness at 20 min.
Stir a tablespoon or two of the sauce into the yogurt, add more if you want more flavor. You can swipe the yogurt gently over the bottom of your platter, top with the carrots and serve. Or, you can eat some standing at the counter, dunking a carrot or two in the mixture like I did. And bring one to hubby to taste.