I was laying in bed one night a few months ago and I was thinking about carrots. Yeah, I know that’s pretty weird. I mean, who lays in bed dreaming of carrots? But anyways, here we are and here is this recipe as a product of that weirdness. I began thinking of what types of flavors would go nicely with roasted carrots and I had a clear vision of this recipe. 

I first tested this recipe when I was visiting my sister. Her fiancé was growing carrots on the balcony of their apartment and when he asked me to cook them I immediately thought back to my late night carrot thoughts. It was an instant hit so I knew it was one I needed to post on here for more people to get the chance to love it!

The herbal, toasty flavor of the zaatar roasted carrots with the sweet, nutty tahini drizzle is just a match made in heaven. Then you get salty, tangy feta with sharp, sweet bursts of the pomegranate. This recipe is a perfect accompanying dish for a beef or lamb based main. It can even be a vegetarian main if you add some cous cous or rice with some chickpeas for a balanced meal.

This recipe apart from being delicious is insanely easy to make. The whole thing took 40 minutes to prepare from start to finish, and the majority of that time was just the carrots cooking. 

I like to use carrots with the green carrot tops still on them, but I did trim them off of the carrots and save the tops. Carrot tops can be saved as they are entirely edible and used in sauces, soups, salads, pesto, gremolata etc. They have an earthy flavor with slightly bitter and salty notes. They can be used as any other green or herb. 

With this recipe there will be more tahini drizzle than you will need but it can be saved in the fridge for up to a week and can be used as a salad dressing, dip or sauce. 

Ingredients:

Carrots:

1 lb. Carrots (I used organic carrots with the tops on)

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

2 Tsp Zaatar

Tahini Drizzle:

2 Tbsp Tahini

2 Tbsp Water

1 Tbsp Lemon Juice

½ Tbsp Olive Oil

½ Tbsp Honey

¼ Tsp Salt

Pinch of Pepper

Garnishes:

1 Tbsp Pomegranate Seeds

1 Oz. Feta (if dairy-free, you could use Violife Vegan Feta)

2 Tbsp Chopped Parsley 

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. 

While the oven is heating up wash, peel and trim the tops off the carrots. Place the cleaned carrots into a bowl and drizzle over the oil and sprinkle the zaatar. Mix around until all of the carrots are evenly covered in oil and seasoning.

Next, place the carrots onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and place in the oven for 35 minutes. Depending on the thickness they might need to cook for slightly longer.

In the meantime, while the carrots cook prepare the tahini drizzle. Mix all of the ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until smooth and thin enough to be drizzled, then set aside

Once the carrots are out of the oven place them onto a serving dish and drizzle with some of the tahini sauce (there will be some leftover, it can be used as a salad dressing or sauce as stated above). Sprinkle on the garnishes with a final pinch of flaky sea salt and the dish is complete. Enjoy!