Roasted Heirloom Carrots

Sometimes, simple is best. Simple recipes are often all high-quality ingredients need to shine on the dinner plate. Take for example: heirloom carrots. I picked up a bag of organic, multi-color heirloom carrots at Trader Joe’s on my way back from Philadelphia to Small Town. I loved all the different colors in the bag from lemon yellow to bright red. It made my day to say the least.

So when I needed to decide what to do with these beauties, I landed on the humble vegetable’s best fried: roasting. Just a few ingredients, a really hot oven, and a little bit of time is all these babies need to come out golden brown and caramelized sweet.

There’s little to say about this recipe as it so simple. Rather, there is more to say about what to do with the roasted carrots once you pull them out of the oven. The possibilities are truly endless. You can put them on a plate next to salmon, beets, and baked potatoes like us. But I’d rather hear about them on top of a big green salad; tossed with quinoa and kale; a bed for a poached egg next to their buddy-the roasted potato. Hey, even on top of ice cream! No, I’m kidding about that.

And if there happen to be any leftovers by chance, chop them up for Shepard’s Pie, or in a hummus and roasted veggie sandwich. I mean these carrots are pretty amazing. I mean it.

 

So if that hasn’t convinced you to make the easiest gourmet side dish in the world then I do not know what will…

Roasted Heirloom Carrots

Makes 4-6 sides

 

Ingredients:

2 lbs. heirloom multi-colored carrots, peeled and topped

1 garlic clove, minced

2 tbsp. olive oil (more for the pan)

½ tsp. kosher salt

Fresh black pepper

Desired Seasoning: Greek, dill, Italian, even dukkah all work well

½ tsp. garlic powder

 Directions:

 Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

 Cut carrots in 2-3 inch pieces, the small ends intact, the large ends haved.

 Toss carrots with the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl and spread out evenly on a dark baking sheet with a little more oil if necessary to grease the pan.

 Bake for 30-40 minutes, stirring halfway through. Carrots are done when they are golden brown on sides and soft when pierced with a fork.

 Serve while still hot or later when cold over a salad.

Enjoy!