This is a riff on part of a recipe from “Eleven Madison Avenue” that caught my eye. I like to play with vegetables in the kitchen, treating them as one might a piece of protein like a roast or steak. Here carrots get to be the roast. I like how such a simple recipe can yield complex flavors, and how the flavors can vary by merely cooking the carrots longer. This recipe will work with any carrot, as long as you adjust the recipe to accommodate the size of the carrots. This was made using bunched Chantenay carrots that averaged 6 inches long and 1½ inches at the widest part of the crown. Although the cooking time is lengthy, once the carrots are in the oven there is nothing to do to them. You could also cook these ahead of time and reheat them later, although the texture will be a little different.
INGREDIENTS:1 bunch of Chantenay carrots, or as many as you want, stems removed, and washed well. Do not peel!
Olive oil, enough to coat the carrots well
Salt and pepper to taste
6-8 large sprigs of fresh thyme, or enough to go under all the carrots
METHOD:
Heat oven to 375°F. Place a rack into a roasting pan, and lay the thyme on the rack. Oil the carrots so they are coated all over. Salt and pepper them, and transfer them to the rack. Place the rack in the center of the oven and roast the carrots for 50 minutes. At this point, the carrots should be a nice golden color, with the skin looking like wrinkled parchment. A sharp knife should slip into the carrot at the widest point easily, telling you the carrots are done. Serve now or save for later.
Chef’s Notes and Tips:
After 50 minutes, the flavor of my carrots was bright with some toasty, woodsy overtones to them. I let some cook another 15 minutes and tried those. They had a deeper flavor with an almost smoky quality, with flavor and texture that reminded me of roast butternut squash. I recommend playing with the times to see what the flavors are like, and I could see using different cooking times depending on the desired end-result. This recipe will take well to flavoring also. Using different herbs, such as rosemary or sage for roasting will give variation, and I think fresh dill scattered over with a little drizzle of Meyer lemon juice works nicely. Try a couple drops of vanilla extract in the oil, with or without a little cinnamon, for a fragrant iteration. Powdered cardamom would be nice as well. You could also baste the carrots with a little maple syrup towards the end of the roasting with great results. You can also let the carrots cool and use in a “salad” at room temperature, or you can re-heat them in a little oil and butter at low temp. I like the idea of serving them with a sauce; either a contrasting sauce like a beurre blanc, or a complementary sauce like a vegetable stock reduction. I also like to compound flavors, so I can easily see serving them with Curry Carrot Sauce.
Serves: 4
Source: Chef Andrew E Cohen
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
