Umami carrots with gochujang romesco and carrot greens salsa
You’ll never look at carrots the same again once you try these bad boys. This recipe looks to place the often ordinary carrot front and centre with bold flavours and textures, particularly so in the ‘carrot greens salsa’ which uses the leftover green tops of the carrots that are often thrown away - they make a delicious green and earthy salsa.
Top Tip - if you struggle to find baby carrots, you can substitute with regular carrots cut into long batons about 1.5 cm thick. If the carrot greens have already been removed, substitute with a combination of flat-leaf parsley and mint for the salsa.
hands-on time
30 minutes
serves
6 as a side
40 minutes
total time
Ingredients
Umami carrots
750g long baby carrots, with green stems still intact
4 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp white (shiro) miso paste
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground allspice
juice of ½ lemon
Gochujang romesco
100g almonds, roughly chopped
2 tbsp maple syrup
3 red capsicums, cored, deseeded, and chopped into quarters
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp gochujang paste
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp ground paprika
¼ tsp ground allspice
½ tsp sea salt
Carrot greens salsa
4 cloves garlic, peeled
40g green stems/leaves from bunch of carrots, finely chopped
1 tbsp capers
10 basil leaves
¼ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp cracked black pepper
juice of ½ lemon
4 tbsp olive oil
Method
Preheat the oven to 160°C fan-forced (or 180°C conventional). Line two large rimmed oven trays and one small oven tray with baking paper.
First, roast the almonds for the romesco. Place the chopped almonds in a single layer on the small lined oven tray and drizzle with the maple syrup. Roast in the oven for 10 minutes until golden. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Increase the oven temperature to 200°C fan-forced (or 220°C conventional).
For the umami carrots, wash the carrots and cut off the green stems/leaves so only a centimetre is left. Place the carrot tops in a bowl and set aside; you will use these for the oil later. Peel the carrots, and cut any larger carrots in half lengthways if needed so they are all a similar width, about 1½ cm at the thickest point. In a large bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients until smooth. Add the carrots and toss to coat evenly. Transfer the carrots and liquid onto one of the large lined oven trays and arrange the carrots in a single layer. Roast for 20 minutes, until the carrots are browning and tender but with a slight bite.
Meanwhile, roast the capsicums for the romesco. Place the quartered capsicums on the remaining large lined oven tray and roast for 20 minutes until soft and starting to blister and char a little.
For the carrot greens salsa, place the garlic in a mortar and pestle and bash until crushed. Add the chopped carrot greens and capers. Bash and grind to form a chunky paste. Add the basil, salt and pepper, grinding to crush the basil into the paste. Add the lemon juice and oil and mix through. Adjust seasoning to taste and set aside.
To finish the gochujang romesco, place the roasted capsicums, maple-roasted almonds and all remaining romesco ingredients in a food processor and blitz until well-combined to form a relatively thick and slightly chunky sauce. Adjust seasoning to taste.
To serve, spread the romesco across the base of a large serving platter. Arrange the umami carrots on top of the romesco and spoon over the carrot greens salsa. Serve warm.