Curry Spiced Carrots (vegan, gluten-free, grain-free)

What’s up doc? No really though! If food is medicine… and you’re the cook, YOU’RE BASICALLY A DOCTOR. Right? And when you’re making DELICIOUS and NUTRITIOUS food – that’s something to be so proud of.

I’m really stoked on this one, guys. This carrot dish was inspired by my trip last summer to London when I had the pleasure of eating at Ottolenghi’s restaurant. If you ever want to taste the most amazing vegetable dishes – YOU GO THERE. I was floored by so many of the unique and interesting flavor profiles I was tasting, not to mention the gorgeous and simplistic preparations they use. How could it not inspire someone to have more fun with their vegetables?

One dish that particularly stood out to me was a spiced carrot dish with yogurt. Now, being lactose intolerant… I could only try a taste – but when I did… YUM. Here I am nearly a year later, still thinking about it. Sidebar: How I miss yogurt sometimes!! OK, enough of lactose woes, after all… there there are wonderful ways around this predicament:

#1- TAHINI. While it’s not yogurt, like, at all – the creaminess is what I was after here. CHECK.

#2- NON-DAIRY YOGURT. Duh. But also challenging. I normally make my own yogurt to control the additive situation (so many products out there have dozens of additives!!). But I happened to find some delicious thick coconut yogurt at Whole Foods that I’m obsessed with – definitely check it out. It’s much thicker than I’ve made myself before, and only has a few natural ingredients, how convenient! It was perfection as an extra optional topping here.

Onto the flavors. Let’s take a gander at the RUB I used on this: paprika, cinnamon, garlic, dried parsley. And of course some sea salt and pepper. It doesn’t end there. The tahini sauce is mixed with just a little water to make it saucier AND yellow curry powder. The combo is HEAVEN.

Oh, and roasting carrots whole like this… makes it taste more amazing than any other method I’ve tried. I actually grew up hating cooked carrots because of the weird mushy texture and in my opinion, off-putting taste. I’d just eat them raw. It was not my thing, ask my mom. Then I moved to roasting them chopped up… much better. Then tried roasting whole and it turned my world upside down – DO IT. The texture is so lovely. And as it turns out, you get a lot more nutrients from carrots this way (even more than when eating raw!) – neat, right? Also, if you can find carrots with the greens attached – GRAB THEM! They taste similar to parsley and are a wonderful garnish, not to mention have a ton of vitamins.

Anyway, make this immediately! I can’t recommend it enough… or eat it enough, apparently.

Ingredients

serves 4

• 1lb. whole carrots (preferably organic since we aren’t peeling and with the greens or stems attached)
• 1/2 tsp olive oil
• 1/8 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp dried parsley
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 1 tsp yellow curry powder (or more to taste)
• 2+ tbsp water
• sea salt and pepper to taste
• optional toppings: thick non-dairy coconut yogurt, carrot greens or fresh parsley, and walnuts

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 400f degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.
2. In a small dish, make the rub by adding: paprika, cinnamon, garlic and parsley and mix.
3. Next, snip the greens or stem on the carrots leaving a 1/2 inch or so left of the stem intact on the carrots. With a vegetable scrubber, under water, scrub the carrots well removing any dirt or ‘hairs’ off. Do not peel unless you feel you need to, it will not come out the same way.
4. Pat carrots dry and toss with the olive oil to coat well allover. Then, sprinkle the rub allover and rub! Completely cover the carrots with the dry rub and place each carrot on the baking sheet. You can add sea salt and pepper over top.
5. Roast carrots for approx. 20 minutes on one side, and then flip over for another 10-15 minutes until you see the exteriors are brown and nearly caramelized. You should be able to stick with a fork to find a soft and tender interior.
6. In the meantime, make the curry-tahini sauce by whisking together the tahini, 2+tbsp of water and the curry powder. You want a saucy consistency so you can add more water if needed.
7. Place finished carrots on a serving dish and drizzle curry tahini sauce over top, optionally garnish with the carrot greens or parsley and serve with a dollop of your favorite thick yogurt if you’ve got it!

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Hope you enjoy!
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Use #foodbymars to tag your FBM inspired creations! I’d love to see!

**Alison

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