HONEY ROASTED CARROTS WITH A POMEGRANATE AND PISTACHIO "GREMOLATA" - RELISH
MY TAKE
Roasting carrots is about as easy as cooking gets. But add a bright, fresh gremolata and something quite ordinary becomes a surprisingly delicious side dish. The carrots become sweet and caramelized in the oven, while the gremolata— fresh parsley, nuts , lemon and in this case pomegranate seeds —adds a wonderful burst of freshness.
Two very simple preparations, but together they make a rather special dish. Perfect alongside almost anything, and pretty enough to take to the table when you are entertaining.
HISTORY
Roasting carrots is a simple cooking method with a long history. Carrots were first cultivated thousands of years ago in Central Asia, although the early varieties were more often purple, yellow, red or white rather than the familiar orange carrot. Once carrots became widely grown in Europe, they were cooked in many ways, including roasted alongside meat. Roasting brings out their natural sweetness and creates those delicious caramelized edges we love today. The addition of gremolata gives this traditional preparation a fresh, modern twist.
Gremolata is a classic italian condiment traditionally made from finely chopped parsley, garlic and lemon zest. For the following recipe we drop the garlic so other more suttle flavors can emerge. There is no single fixed recipe for gremolata and cooks often adapt it with other herbs, citrus or nuts.
THE RECIPE
ROASTED CARROTS WITH "GREMOLATA"
Servings: 6/8 as a side Prep time: 15 min Cook time: 35 min
INGREDIENTS
2 lbs carrots peeled
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
2 tablespoons of honey
1 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsop Freshly ground black pepper
Gremolata - Relish
1/2 cup Pomegranate seeds
1/3 cup Fresh Italian flat leaf parsley (chopped)
1/3 cup Chopped pistachios (or walnuts) lightly toasted
1 -2 tablespoons fresh Lemon Juice
Zest of half a lemon
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tablespoon red pepper flakess
1 tablespoon of fresh Mint (optional) roughly chopped
Pinch of salt
INSTRUCTIONS
Presheat oven to 425 degrees F
Peel carrots leaving thin ones whole and cutting large ones lengthwise so all carrots are more or less uniform in size. I leave on the greens as these can be eaten - in fact they can be made into a pesto using them with or instead of basil - recipe for pesto can be found in notes below.
Place the carrots on a metal baking pan /sheet. Toss with olive oil, salt and red pepper. Roast for 35 minutes until carrots are tender when pierced with a fork and have caramelized. I usually turn my carrots once halfway through baking time.
About 5 minutes before roasting is complete, add honey and lemon juice (mix) - brush on carrots and they will come out of the oven glossy!
Whilst the carrots are cooking combine all the gremolata ingredients. and mix well. Arrange carrots on a warm platter and spoon on gremolata as desired. A little addition of lemon zest on the surface of gremalata can look charming!
NOTES
You can use any nuts - my usual go to alternative is walnuts (also lightly toasted).
Nuts can be toasted in a pan on the top of the stove - no need for oil but watch carefully for colour to appear you do not want to burn them! You can also replace lemons with limes or oranges.
Carrot top greens for pesto. Just add garlic, parmesan, toasted nuts, (pine or walnuts) olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice! if you have a little basil this can be added too.
LET'S TALK
Please let me know how you fare with this recipe and if you have any suggestions to improve it? Send me your photos and your comments. I would love to hear about your favourite gremolata combinations!
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