Tag: carrot

Miso butter roasted carrot pasta

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

Silky, savoury and bright orange, this is just the thing when you want a comforting pile of pasta but you aren’t feeling like tomato- or cheese-based sauce (I know, when does that ever happen?!) This is really good though, especially if you can get carrots with the leaves still on and make carrot-top pesto too!

  • 500g carrots
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 tbsp salted butter
  • 2 tsp white miso
  • 3 cloves confit garlic
  • Freshly grated parmesan
  • Toasted flaked almonds
  • Carrot-top pesto (whizz up chopped carrot leaves, parsley, olive oil, confit garlic, parmesan, almonds, a pinch of salt)
  1. Slice the carrots, toss with olive oil, salt and pepper
  2. Roast until soft and brown round the edges (oven at 180 for 40 mins or air fryer on roast for 20)
  3. When the carrots have about 10 mins left, cook the pasta in salted boiling water
  4. Tip the carrots into a bowl or blender jug and use a hand blender to puree with 200ml of past water, plus the butter, miso, garlic. Stir in more water if you’d like a looser texture
  5. Stir the silky orange sauce through the pasta and serve topped with drifts of grated parmesan, toasty flaked almonds and spots of the bright, herby carrot-top pesto

Roast carrot salad

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Sweet and savoury roast carrots, coated in a tangy, fresh yoghurt and herb dressing. The perfect accompaniment to a spring evening barbecue.

  • 1 kg carrots
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 5 tbsp greek yoghurt
  • 1 tsp garlic oil
  • ½ tsp dried dill
  • ½ tsp dried mint
  • 10g fresh mint, chopped
  • 10g fresh dill, chopped
  • 10g fresh parsley, chopped
  • Salt
  1. Pre-heat oven to 180C fan (200C)
  2. Peel and cut the carrots into chunky uneven pieces
  3. Toss with 1 tbsp olive oil, cumin and a sprinkle of salt and them tumble them out onto a baking tray or shallow roasting tin
  4. Roast for 30-40 mins until softened and brown round the edges
  5. Meanwhile, in a big bowl, stir together the other tbsp oil, yoghurt, garlic oil and all the herbs. Season with salt to taste and a little lemon juice if it needs more acidity
  6. When the carrots come out of the oven, while they’re still warm, scoop them into the bowl with the dressing and toss together
  7. Serve at room temperature with a little sprinkle of fresh dill and toasted sesame seeds

Roast carrot hummous

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Not really hummous because no chickpeas, but bright orange, nutty and perfect scooped up by pitta chips.

  • 100g cashew nuts
  • 600g carrots, scrubbed and cut into chunks
  • 3 cloves garlic, peeled and squashed gently with the flat of your knife
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • Juice of ½ lemon
  • 3 tbsp tahini
  • Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
  • Couple of tsp za’atar
  1. Soak cashews for 2 hours in cold water, then drain
  2. Pre-heat oven to 190C fan (210C)
  3. Put the carrots, garlic, sesame oil, veg oil, cumin and a pinch of salt in a roasting tin and mix well before putting in the oven
  4. Roast for 25 mins until soft and starting to go brown round the edges
  5. In a bowl, mix the roasted carrots, tahini, lemon juice, pinch of salt and wet cashews. Use a wand blender or food processor to blend into a coarse paste
  6. Check the seasoning and add more salt or lemon if needed
  7. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of za’atar

Carrot banana muffins

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Breakfast cake! With not only bananas but carrots too – so healthy! – and spices which give it hints of gingerbread. Just like if a carrot cake and banana bread had a beautiful fluffy child. Makes 9.

  • 1 egg
  • 50g soft light brown sugar
  • 80g plain flour
  • 50g ground almonds
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • Pinch of salt
  • ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp mixed spice
  • Couple of gratings (¼ tsp) nutmeg
  • ¼ tsp ground ginger
  • 50ml sunflower oil
  • 1 ripe banana, mashed
  • 60g carrot, peeled and grated
  • Handful of sultanas
  • Handful of sunflower seeds and flax seeds
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 170C fan (190C) and line muffin cases
  2. Whisk together the sugar and egg until well combined and thickened.
  3. Add the flour, ground almonds, baking powder, salt, bicarb, cinnamon, mixed spice and nutmeg
  4. Mix together thoroughly, then add the oil, bananas, grated carrot, sultanas and seeds
  5. Give it a thorough mix then spoon shaggy mounds of the happy mixture into the muffin cases
  6. Bake for 35 mins until golden and then cool on a wire rack
  7. Store in an air tight container at room temperature

These freeze really well if you can’t get through all of them before they go stale

Spiced carrot chutney

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This chutney makes cheese sing with joy. And who doesn’t want that? Plus it glows a most beautiful, vibrant orange colour. People constantly ask when I’m making more so they can come to my house and steal it.

  • 1.8kg carrots, grated
  • 110g ginger, peeled and finely chopped
  • 1 litre cider vinegar
  • 8 dried chillis (or 1 tsp dried chilli flakes)
  • 2 tbsp coriander seeds, coarsely crushed
  • 4 cinnamon sticks
  • 2 star anise
  • 60g sea salt flakes
  • 3 heads garlic, cloves separated and peeled
  • 500 ml water
  • 1.5 kg granulated sugar 
  1. In a large bowl, mix together the grated carrot, ginger, cider vinegar, chillis, coriander seeds, cinnamon sticks, star anise and salt. But not the garlic
  2. Cover the bowl with a plate or a clean tea towel and set aside to marinate for 24 hours
  3. Next day (probably giggling with excited anticipation), pour the carrot mixture into a large preserving pan
  4. Add the water, stir and bring to the boil. Then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 mins
  5. Stir in the sugar and garlic cloves, bring back to the boil and boil hard for around 45 mins, stirring occasionally, until the mixture becomes thick and jammy. Don’t be scared to properly whack the heat up. If you are gentle, it will take a lot longer
  6. Take off the heat and ladle at once into hot sterilised jars with tightly fitting lids. I don’t bother removing the star anise, chilli, cinnamon and garlic but by all means do if you prefer!

I like to sterilise my jars in the microwave – 3 mins on high with an inch of water in the bottom of each one – but you can also do it in the oven at 140C for 10 mins. Don’t forget to wash the lids in hot soapy water too and then pour some boiling water over them too for good measure.

Carrot and coriander soup

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Warm, gently spiced, pleasingly orange. For coriander-lovers only though. If the taste makes you think of soap, maybe give this one a miss. Check out one of my other soups instead! To me, this is a lovely lunch on a chilly day, and needs nothing more than some bread to dunk in it. Feeds 4

  • 1 tbsp veg oil
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 5 or 6 big, fat carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, chopped
  • 1 tbsp ground coriander
  • ½ tsp turmeric
  • Handful of fresh coriander stalks (and/or leaves – but this is just such a good way to use the stalks up!)
  • 1 chicken stock cube (or veg stock if you prefer)
  • Salt and pepper
  1. Heat the oil and butter in a large saucepan (not non-stick if you’re going to blend it in the pan – I’ve ruined both soup and pan doing that!)
  2. Add onion and cook over a medium heat until translucent
  3. Add the garlic and give it another minute
  4. Add the carrots and stir through the garlicky buttery oil
  5. Add the 2 corianders, turmeric, seasoning and crumble in the stock cube, then stir everything together until well combined
  6. Pour over about a pint and a half of boiling water, to cover the contents completely, and stir
  7. Bring to the boil, then turn down to a simmer for 10 mins
  8. Spike a piece of carrot with a knife. If it’s soft, you’re ready to blend! If not, give it another minute or two
  9. Take the soup off the stove and use a stick blender to whizz everything to a loose puree.
  10. Check the seasoning and serve. If you want to get fancy, pop a bit of cream or creme fraiche on top once it’s in the bowl, and a couple of carefully-placed fresh coriander leaves