Smoke and Spice Roasted Carrots with Salsa Verde
Our friend and talented chef partner Karl Holl crafted this vegetarian dish of roasted and raw carrots featuring our limited edition Smoke & Spice rub. A variety of fresh herbs come together with toasted hazelnuts, rich olive oil, and bright lemon zest for a springy salsa verde. Calabrian chilis add the perfect hint of heat, but feel free to omit if spice-sensitive.
Go wild and add additional garden herbs you might have on hand to showcase the best summer has to offer.
Ingredients
- 2 bunch rainbow or garden carrots with tops
- 2 large carrots for puree
- Smith’s Smoke & Spice rub
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 2 oz avocado oil
- 4 radish
- 1 bunch each mint, dill, fennel, cilantro, and basil
- 3 Calabrian chili in oil, chopped
- ½ cup toasted hazelnuts, chopped
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1 lemon
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees for roasting carrots.
- Clean and peal the rainbow carrots, leaving about an inch of greens attached. Pick out 4-5 smaller carrots and set aside for shaving. Toss the remaining carrots with olive oil, salt, and a nice coating of Smoke & Spice rub, about 1 ½ tablespoons. Lay seasoned carrots out on a baking sheet and roast for 15-18 minutes, until tender but not overly done.
- While the carrots are roasting mix the salsa verde. In a small bowl toss the hazelnuts, Calabrian chilis, 1 cup chopped herbs (mix of mint, basil, cilantro, dill and fennel), zest of 1 lemon, olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Keep out and set to the side.
- Shave the reserved raw carrots and radish (we recommend using a mandolin) and let stand in cold water to crisp up for a few minutes. Spin dry in a salad spinner or pat dry with a clean cloth and set aside.
- Dice the two additional large carrots and place in a small sauce pan. Cover with water and a pinch of salt and bring to a boil and simmer till tender. Drain the carrots and add to a blender or food processor with 1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar and a pinch of salt. Continue to blend while slowly adding in two ounces of avocado oil to emulsify into the puree and adjust seasoning if needed. Set aside.
- Once the carrots are roasted let cool a few minutes, then cut down to bite size pieces and add to a mixing bowl. Toss the roasted carrots with a few spoonfuls of salsa verde, reserving a couple spoonfuls for the raw salad.
- In a separate bowl, mix the raw carrots and radish with remaining herbs and salse verde.