carrots Archives - Amanda is Hungry

One vegetable that I love to have on hand is carrots. It’s a great vegetable that can be served raw or cooked. They’re great for snacking, thinly sliced in a salad or tossed in noodles, roasted in the oven (enter maple miso glazed carrots), put into soups… the possibilities are endless! It also keeps well for extended periods of time.

Whenever I buy a big bag of carrots, I extend their shelf life by peeling them all and then cutting them into smaller pieces that can fit into a container. I then fill the containers with water so that the carrots are all covered. I change out the water everyday. This makes my carrots last weeks, if not an entire month!

If I decide to cook my carrots, one of my favorite methods is roasting in the oven. Oven roasting brings out extra sweetness of the carrots. I love to glaze with some maple and miso for some extra sweet and savory flavor.

Maple Miso Glazed Carrots

Print Recipe

Oven roasted sweet & savory carrots that are perfect as any side dish

Course Side Dish

Keyword carrots, maple, miso, roasted

Ingredients

4 pounds carrots
2 tbsp miso paste
2 tbsp maple syrup
salt
pepper
olive oil

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400F
Peel and cut carrots into long sticks, all about the same thickness.
Toss carrots in olive oil, salt and pepper.
Par bake for 20 minutes.
While carrots are initially baking, mix together miso and maple.
Once carrots have completed initial bake, remove from oven and toss with miso maple mixture.
Return to oven for additional 20 minutes.
Remove and serve!

Need more sides? Try Creamy Mashed Potatoes or Honey Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Carrots in the summer are so beautiful. Every farmer’s market stand has them on display with their frilly, green tops still attached. They’re just too pretty to get rid of! Carrot tops have a light carrot-y flavor, but are a little pepper-y like arugula. The green tops are perfect blended into a sauce like a carrot top pesto. Carrot top pesto is great for some hot, long noodles or mixed into a smaller pasta for a pasta salad.

I used mine with some capellini pasta. The pesto was thinned out with some pasta water and some frozen peas were added! You can also just make a Basil Pesto if you aren’t feeling too adventurous to try carrot tops. 🙂

Ingredients:

Carrot tops: I think the carrot tops here can really be substituted with a multitude of herbs to make a beautiful sauce. Sub with basil for a more traditional pesto or go wild with parsley and cilantro.

Pine nuts and walnuts: I like the combination and flavor of both! If you could only pick one, I would not skip the pine nuts.

Pecorino romano: my favored salty hard cheese!

Lemon juice: You can substitute this with any acid! I used a Meyer lemon vinegar too and it was lovely.

Olive oil: I got a coupon to try this new one, Colive, that is very tasty but also has a beautiful mission.

Carrot Top Pesto

Print Recipe

Minimal waste pesto using green carrot tops for a carrot-y, pepper-y sauce.

Course Main Course

Keyword carrot, pasta, pesto

Equipment

1 blender or food processor

Ingredients

1/3 cup pine nuts
1/3 cup walnuts
2 cups packed carrot tops
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup Pecorino Romano
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tsp lemon juice
salt
pepper

Instructions

Toasted your pine nuts and walnuts in the oven until golden brown and fragrant. They can be toasted in a pan or in the oven at 350F for 3-5 minutes.
While toasting, wash your carrot tops and trim off any leafy bits that are wilted or dry. Cut into smaller chunks to more easily fit into a food processor or blender.
After nuts have toasted, add nuts, garlic, and cheese to blend first until into a smaller grit.
Add carrot tops and pulse until mostly blended.
Continue blending and drizzle in olive oil. Reduce or add additional as necessary until achieved desired consistency.
Add lemon juice, salt, and pepper to taste.
Mix into some pasta or serve alongside some bread or crackers!

Try this pesto with Pesto Roasted Potatoes