How To Roast Carrots Delicious Ideas for them

A few weeks ago I was invited up to London (I live in Cornwall) to try a carrot; not just an ordinary carrot mind you, a Chantenay carrot.  I couldn’t afford the trip but luckily a few days ago my real man brought home some bargain carrots of the very same race. I think he paid 35p instead of the full price of £1 but even full price they were a bargain compared to the rail fare! I decided to try roasted carrots with them.

How to Roast Carrots

carrots
salt and pepper
olive oil
optional additions – add cinnamon, cumin or
at the end of cooking add fresh herbs such as dill, parsley or chervil or
squeeze in some roasted garlic

~ Preheat oven to 400^oF/200^oC/180^o fan/gas 6.
~ Peel the carrots if necessary, top and tail and, slice large carrots, diagonally, about ½″ thick, leave little Chanteny carrots whole.
~ Season the carrots and toss the carrots with enought olive oil to coat.
~ Spread on a baking tray, it is best if they are not touching, and cover tightly with foil.
~ Cook till just tender which will take between 30 and 45 minutes depending on the make of carrot.
~ Remove the foil and roast for a further 10 minutes or so till crisp and caramelised.
~ Serve immediately.

Honey Glazed Roasted Carrots 

To make them even more special melt in a little honey and butter for the last few minutes of cooking.

What to do with Roasted Carrots …

~ Roasted carrots are a superb side dish, especially for roast dinners and especially, especially for Christmas dinner.
~ Add to egg dishes such as omelettes or scrambled eggs.
~ Stir into risotto, stir fries and other rice dishes.
~ Add to sandwiches.
~ Toss in salads or make …

Nutty Roasted Carrot Salad

When roasting the carrots toss a handful of pecans in a little olive oil with salt and pepper. Put on a separate baking try and roast for about 10 minutes till slightly darker. Cool.

Toss roasted carrots together with the pecans and some tender leaves. Drizzle with balsamic glaze with is, of course, sweet and so perfect with carrots. Sprinkle with crunchy sea salt.

Roasted Carrot Hummus or other Bean Dip

See here for how to make hummus from chickpeas and dips from other beans and purée in some roasted carrots!

Roasted Carrot Vinaigrette

For this I used 60ml olive oil and 20ml cider vinegar with 5 roasted and puréed Chantenay carrots.  I added a pinch of salt and sweetened with honey; about 2 teaspoons.

See here for basic vinagrette recipe, hints and tips and 24 delicious salad dressing recipes.

Roasted Carrot Soup

I use pretty well the same basic recipe for all my soups (I’ve written a book “SOUP (almost) the Only Recipe You’ll Ever Need” which goes into details) and this was no exception.

30g/1oz butter OR 2 tablespoons of olive oil, to be healthier and still delicious
250g/9oz peeled floury potatoes such as King Edward or Maris Piper – thinly sliced
approx 480ml/16 fl oz stock of your choice
salt, pepper and other seasoning to taste
300g/10½oz roasted carrots

~ Cook the onions in accordance with my instructions here – this is honestly the best way to cook onions!
~ When they are fully tender and maybe a little caramelised add the sliced potatoes and then enough stock to just cover them. You may need more liquid to finish the soup but it’s best not to use more than necessary at this stage; less splashy when mashing or puréeing.
~ Bring to a boil, turn down the heat, cover with the lid and cook till the potatoes are tender.
~ Chop the roasted carrots and add to the pan.
~ Purée the soup then return to the pan adding more stock or maybe cream till it is just how you like it.
~ Season to taste – good additions would be roasted garlic, a drizzle of honey and/or finely chopped fresh herbs. In the picture below I kept back a few pieces or carrots and added them to the finished soup.

Many years ago, I read “The Man Who Ate Everything” by Jeffrey Steingarten and thought “I want to be just like him when I grow up”.  The thing that particularly attracted me was that as he was (and is) a food writer people were always sending him wonderful things to test and write about.  I wonder if the aforementioned carrot invitation might be the start of exciting times for me!!!

Please leave this field empty

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm and download your free tips.