One of the pleasures of early spring is heirloom carrots, an assortment of bite-size, brightly colored older varieties of baby carrot. In addition to the classic orange, heirloom carrots come in red, yellow and purple colors.
If you want to showcase the natural flavor of an heirloom carrot, the best way to do it is to serve it raw, boiled or marinated. But if you want to draw out a sweeter, more complex flavor, try tossing the carrot in a spice rub and roast it, preferably in a wood oven.
I like to use harissa, the North African pepper condiment, as a foil for the natural sweetness of the heirloom carrots. Harissa also works well with spices like coriander seed, cumin and fennel seed and a base for a lemon juice and mustard vinaigrette.
Serve this salad at room temperature as a first course or as a side dish with roast lamb.
Note: heirloom carrots and harissa can be found at Marczyk’s.
Roasted Heirloom Carrot Salad with Almonds and Goat Cheese
Serves four.
Ingredients
36 heirloom carrots, peeled
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Spice Mixture (recipe follows)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 lemons
1 tablespoons harissa
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon honey
1 cup cilantro leaves
3 ounces fresh goat cheese
2 ounces sliced almonds, toasted
SPICE MIXTURE:
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 tablespoon fennel seed
1 tablespoon coriander seed
1 tablespoon cumin seed
Directions
Preheat oven to 375.
Place Spice Mixture ingredients on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, until fragrant. Remove, allow to cool slightly, and coarsely grind in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder. Set aside.
To prepare the carrots, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and blanch the carrots for 1 minute. Shock in ice water and drain. In a large mixing bowl, toss the carrots in 4 tablespoons of olive oil, salt, the spice mixture and the brown sugar. Place in a single layer and roast for 15 minutes until slightly browned.
Remove from the oven, season with the juice of one lemon and cool to room temperature.
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the juice of the remaining lemon, the harissa, Dijon mustard and honey. Slowly add the remaining 4 tablespoons of olive oil.
Place the roasted carrots in a large mixing bowl and toss with the harissa dressing, cilantro, goat cheese and almonds. Serve family-style.
