Honey-and-Spice-Roasted Carrots with Tahini Yogurt

The meals I made before heading to Canada were a bit lackluster. I finally tried that last recipe from 100 recettes pour toi mon cœur (which I talked about here in English), a sesame chicken with an arugula citrus salad in which I used sugar snap peas instead of asparagus. Good, but nothing to write home about. Same with the beef and pesto manicottis from Coup de Pouce (not online, unfortunately) that I had made for the freezer. There were also chicken enchiladas with tomatoes and avocados that were good, but not photogenic. Luckily, I could count on Molly Wizenberg to make things interesting again.

So I found this roasted carrot recipe on Orangette, though it’s originally by Yotam Ottolenghi. I should probably get his cookbooks, because I usually end up really liking dishes he’s created! This was no exception – very easy to make, very satisfying. I even made it again last week! I ended up serving it with a meat pie from the freezer.

The quantities below yield a generous 4 servings; I halved it when I made it. I roasted the coriander and cumin seeds in a pan, then crushed them with a mortar and pestle. Bonus points if you use yellow and purple carrots as well as orange, it’ll be prettier!

For the yogurt sauce
Scant 3 tablespoons (40 g.) tahini
2/3 cup (130 g.) plain whole-milk yogurt or Greek yogurt
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 generous pinch of kosher salt

For the carrots
2 Tbsp. olive oil
scant 3 Tbsp. (60 g.) honey
1 ½ tsp. coriander seeds, toasted and lightly crushed
1 ½ tsp. cumin seeds, toasted and lightly crushed
leaves from 2 sprigs fresh thyme, or a generous pinch of dried thyme
3 lbs. (1.3 kg.) carrots, peeled and cut into index-finger-sized batons
1 ½ Tbsp. cilantro leaves, chopped or not
kosher salt
black pepper

Preheat the oven to 425 °F, and line a large rimmed sheet pan with parchment paper.

Combine the sauce ingredients in a small bowl, and whisk well. Set aside while you roast the carrots.

Combine the olive oil, honey, coriander and cumin seeds, and thyme in a large bowl. Add 1 tsp. kosher salt (if using Diamond Crystal; maybe just ½ tsp. if using Morton) and a few grinds of black pepper. Whisk as well as you can; the honey might make it pretty goopy. Add the carrots, and mix until well coated. (I did this with my hands, since the honey wanted to clump instead of coat the carrots.) Dump the carrots onto the prepared sheet pan, and arrange them evenly in a single layer. Roast, stirring gently once or twice, until they are cooked through and glazed, 30 to 40 minutes.

Serve the carrots warm or at room temperature, with a good spoonful of sauce on top or smeared on the plate underneath them. Scatter with cilantro.