The Chef Within

Whenever I’m serving or catering a meal that needs an impressive vegetable I almost always resort to roasted carrots.  I absolutely love roasted carrots and it’s so much fun to serve them to a group because most people have never experienced them.   You may have caught an earlier post on roasting cauliflower and one on asparagus and if you did, the procedure here is exactly the same.  Indeed, any all all vegetables can be roasted in this manner. 

I have to say that when I made these for a special group over the holidays I ran out and not because there wasn’t enough.  It was because many people were going back for seconds and thirds, they were that good.  When I tried to tell them how simple it was they were convinced I was keeping a secret ingredient from them.  But no…here it is.

Start with whole carrots, no machine fabricated mini carrots here.

Try and use pieces that are similar in size so they cook more evenly.

You will want to cut them in any shape

as long as they have a flat side.   These have been halved lengthwise and then cut on the diagonal.  Any shape will do as long as you create a flat side and as I metnioned earlier try and be consistent in your cuts so that the pieces will roast evenly.

Transfer all the cut pieces to a bowl

squirt them with a little olive oil and it really doesn’t take very much, perhaps one tablespoon per pound.

Sprinkle them with salt and pepper and then toss with your fingers until every pieces is coated in the oil.

Transfer them to a baking sheet (no need to grease because the carrots are oiled) making sure the carrots are in a single layer…no overcrowding.

Take to a 400 degree preheated oven with a rack set in the lower one third of the oven.  Roast until ends and bottoms develop a rich caramel color.  This batch actually could have been cooked a little longer.  They develop a sweetness as they caramelize so make sure they spend adequate time in the oven.  Going back to the entertainment benefits.  These carrots can be made several days in advance and simply warmed in the oven right before needed.  I promise - you will be hooked.