One of our favorite “date night at home” menus includes a cast iron steak cooked to crispness on a cast iron skillet plus some roasted vegetables. The struggle has been trying to find inventive sides to go with the steak just for some variety. Lately I’ve been really into these colored carrots that seem to taste better than the average Bugs Bunny carrot, really only because I’m easily distracted and impressed by colorful food on my plate!
This recipe would be a lovely side course to serve at a dinner party, as well, as it would plate beautifully and be a creative way to jazz up the side potatoes routine.
Ingredients
- 1 head of garlic
- extra virgin olive oil
- 1 shallot
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- salt
- 8-12 medium to small carrots
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp Moroccan harissa (or paprika and chili powder)
- 1/2 cup sunflower seeds, toasted
- 1/2 cup pistachios, toasted
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh parley
- 2 tbsp fresh mint
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
- Slice the head of garlic in half widthwise and toss in oil just to coat. Wrap in foil. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour and then mash into a paste.
- Slice the shallot into paper thin rings and toss in a bowl with some lemon juice to coat. Allow to sit for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the broiler. Peel the carrots and trim the tops and ends. Cook the carrots in the boiling water until they are just shy of fork tender. Remove the carrots and lay on a baking sheet. Toss them with oil. Place the baking sheet under the broker until the carrots are slightly blistered.
- Put the yogurt in a small mixing bowl. Stir in the harissa until you get your desired spice level. Do the same with the roasted garlic paste. Then add the lemon juice and salt to taste.
- To serve, spoon some of the yogurt on each plate, put carrots on top, and finish with the sunflower seeds, pistachios, the shallot, parsley and mint.
From Twenty Dinners by Chris Taylor
