{recipe} Easy Oven-Roasted Carrots

When I was growing up, my mom would often make carrots in the oven cooked with butter and dill. I loved them back then, but after experimenting over the years with different herbs, spices, and fats, the version I almost always make is this one: with olive oil, coarse salt, cumin, and just a hint of cinnamon. The natural sugars in the carrots caramelize and brown a bit in a hot oven, and the sweetness is balanced out by the spice and the salt.

Best of all, these require no effort other than peeling and cutting. They will hold in the oven for awhile, so if they are done before the rest of the meal is cooked, they will keep without getting dried out. Guests love them and they couldn’t be easier to make.

The carrots cook down quite a lot, so I usually allot at least 2 whole carrots per person. This recipe will serve 4, but for each additional person just add more carrots and more oil and seasonings.

You might be tempted to use the pre-cut “baby” carrots instead of peeling and cutting larger carrots. Now I am all for making life easier but I will honestly say that for some reason, they just don’t taste very good when prepared this way. If you’re rushed for time, you can try using them, but I don’t really recommend it. Still, any carrots are better than no carrots!

Recipe: Easy Oven-Roasted Carrots
serves 4 as a side dish

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 large carrots
• a couple glugs of olive oil
• 1 to 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 large pinch ground cinnamon
• coarse salt (like Kosher salt) to taste

METHOD:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Peel carrots and rinse them off, or if you prefer to leave the peels on, just scrub and rinse very well to remove all dirt. Cut off ends. Cut into 3 inch segments, then quarter each segment (you can half the smallest pieces if quarters seems too small.)
• Put carrots in an oven-proof metal or ceramic pan like an 8 inch square or round pan. Add a few glugs of olive oil, spices, and salt to taste. Toss with a wooden spoon to coat.
• Cook for about 1 hour, stirring once. Serve immediately or turn off the oven and leave carrots in until serving time.