Carrots are a great fall vegetable. Maybe their color is why I associate them with fall, although the carrots that the ancient Greeks & Romans grew were purple, red, white, and yellow, but never orange. It wasn’t until the 16th century that Dutch carrot growers invented the orange variety to honor of the Dutch Royal Family, the House of Orange. Pale yellow carrots were cross bred with red carrots to get the orange color we now most associate with carrots.
I’ve planted carrots in our garden in the past, but I never took the time to thin them properly, so there were never any to harvest. After buying fresh organic carrots at the farmers market last December, I vowed to try growing carrots again and to do the work required to produce a good crop. I am happy to say that we harvested our first homegrown carrots recently. I love the fact that you can harvest them whenever you need them and that they can stay in the ground well into the cold weather. In fact, carrots become sweeter after spending a few frosty nights in the ground. I didn’t want to wait that long before trying them out though, so it is handy that carrots can be harvested any time after the tops reach 1/2-inch in diameter.
The first harvest!
When the tops of the carrot start to peek through the dirt, they can be harvested.
Spicy Honey Roasted Carrots (adapted from bhg.com)
Makes 6 servings Time required: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 pounds carrots, scrubbed and peeled
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup coarsely chopped hazelnuts
- 1 1/2 teaspoons coriander seed
- 3/4 teaspoons cumin seed
- 1 tablespoon honey
- Lemon wedges, if desired
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425° F. Trim the carrots if they have the tops intact. Scrub and peel the carrots. Halve any thick carrots lengthwise, then cut them in half horizontally. Evenly spread the carrots on a rimmed baking sheet or in a roasting pan. Drizzle the carrots with the olive oil, tossing them to distribute the oil then sprinkle them with the salt & pepper. Roast the carrots, uncovered, for 20 minutes.
Slice the carrots lengthwise then once horizontally.
Meanwhile, heat a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add the hazelnuts, cooking and stirring for 3 minutes or until they are fragrant and toasted. Transfer the hazelnuts to a glass bowl.
Hazelnuts toasting.
Add the coriander and cumin seeds to the hot skillet. Cook them on medium-high heat for 2 minutes or until they, too, are fragrant and toasted. Remove the spices from the heat and transfer them to a small bowl. Cool the spices for 10 minutes.
The spices get toasted separately from the hazelnuts.
Using a spice grinder, coffee grinder, or mortar and pestle, grind or crush the spices until they are coarsely ground.
We use a mortar & pestle for grinding.
Add the hazelnuts to the grinder and grind until the nuts are slightly crushed.
Add in the nuts and grind a bit more.
Remove the carrots from the oven. Drizzle the honey over the carrots, tossing them to evenly coat them with honey. Sprinkle the carrots with the hazelnut spice mixture.
Sprinkle the carrots with the nuts & spices after the honey coats the carrots.
Return the coated carrots to the oven, roasting for another 5 to 10 minutes. Serve the carrots with lemon wedges, if desired.
Goodness from the garden!
I hope to keep harvesting carrots through December! ~Linda
Spicy Honey Roasted Carrots (adapted from bhg.com)
Makes 6 servings Time required: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 pounds carrots, scrubbed and peeled
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 cup coarsely chopped hazelnuts
- 1 1/2 teaspoons coriander seed
- 3/4 teaspoons cumin seed
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon honey
- Lemon wedges, if desired
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425° F. Trim the carrots if they have the tops intact. Scrub and peel the carrots. Halve any thick carrots lengthwise, then cut them in half horizontally. Evenly spread the carrots on a rimmed baking sheet or in a roasting pan. Drizzle the carrots with the olive oil, tossing them to distribute the oil, then sprinkle them with the salt & pepper. Roast the carrots, uncovered, for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add the hazelnuts, cooking and stirring for 3 minutes or until they are fragrant and toasted. Transfer the hazelnuts to a glass bowl. Add the coriander and cumin seeds to the hot skillet. Cook them on medium-high heat for 2 minutes or until they, too, are fragrant and toasted. Remove the spices from the heat and transfer them to a small bowl. Cool the spices for 10 minutes. Using a spice grinder, coffee grinder, or mortar and pestle, grind or crush the spices until they are coarsely ground. Add the hazelnuts to the grinder and grind until the nuts are slightly crushed.
Remove the carrots from the oven. Drizzle the honey over the carrots, tossing them to evenly coat them with honey. Sprinkle the carrots with the hazelnut spice mixture then return the coated carrots to the oven, roasting for another 5 to 10 minutes. Serve the carrots with lemon wedges, if desired.