Harissa-honey roast carrots
Why are baby carrots often called Dutch? That’s probably a question for our Eternal Questions team here at the LSC but off the top of our heads, we’d say it’s because the Dutch, bless ‘em, developed the modern orange carrot as we know it. The mother of all carrots was white, apparently, but selective breeding in the Netherlands put a stop to that and thank goodness. A white ghost carrot sounds beyond weird to us. Not that all Dutch, or baby, carrots are orange; they come in a range of lovely shades. Such as yellow and magenta as well as the inevitable orange. They look spectacular together on a platter if you jumble up a mix of colours, and that’s our approach here.
We’ve never been fans of boiling carrots unless we’re making stock, a stew or soup. They taste way sweeter roasted, although they shrink quite a bit in the heat of the oven so be prepared for that. What we don’t love about Dutch carrots is scrubbing the buggers clean; it’s time-consuming without a personal kitchen-hand so if that’s your predicament too, you might resort to peeling them. Just be aware that this reduces their size somewhat, depending on the ferocity of your peeler. Some remove great slabs of skin; others take a less drastic approach. Oh and you won’t use all the pistachio dukkah on your carrots here. But it will keep for a number of weeks in an airtight container or sealed jar; scatter it over hummus or other Mid-Eastern dips, sprinkle it over your breakfast eggs, avo toast, roasted cauliflower, grilled salmon or roast lamb, or just serve it with good bread and plenty of EVOO for dunking.
SERVES 4 as a side
800g-900g baby carrots, rubbed well or peeled
1½ tbsp harissa, or to taste
2 tbsp honey
2½ tbsp olive oil
150g drained labne balls, or soft goat cheese
45g (⅓ cup) pitted kalamata olives, or to taste
fresh herbs to garnish- mint leaves, coriander sprigs, dill fronds
lemon wedges to serve
Pistachio dukkah (makes about 1 cup)
5 tsp cumin seeds
5 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp fennel seeds
50g (⅓ cup) sesame seeds
65g (½ cup) chopped pistachios
1½ tsp sea salt flakes, or to taste
1½ tsp coarsely ground black pepper
For the pistachio dukkah, heat a small, heavy-based frying pan over medium-low heat. Add the cumin, coriander, fennel and sesame seeds, then cook, tossing the pan often, for 3-4 minutes or until lightly toasted and fragrant. Remove from the heat and cool. Using an electric spice grinder or a mortar and pestle, grind the mixture to a coarse powder. Combine in a bowl with the pistachios, salt and pepper and toss to combine.
Preheat the oven to 200˚C. Halve any larger carrots lengthways, then place the carrots on a large oven tray. Drizzle over the harissa, honey and oil, then use your hands to toss the carrots mixture until they are evenly coated. Spread the carrots in a single layer, season with salt and pepper, then roast for 30-35 minutes or until golden and tender. Cool slightly, then transfer to a serving platter. Scatter over torn labne balls or goat cheese, olives, herbs and pistachio dukkah, to taste. Serve with lemon wedges for squeezing over, to taste.
