Roasted Heirloom Carrots Salad

We love it when a dish takes one classic ingredient like a carrot and makes it sing! And this delicious roasted heirloom carrots salad certainly does that. A simple side dish with a natural sweetness that everyone will love and it's sure to look stunning on any table.

You can enjoy this easy carrot side dish recipe every day of the week. But it also fits perfectly on any holiday table.

Ready for a new way to enjoy carrots? Then let's get cooking!

What are heirloom carrots?

Heirloom carrots, or heritage carrots, are traditional carrots. Before the seeds were modified to create the uniform popular orange carrot.

Heirloom carrots come in various colours: red, purple, white, and yellow. The heirloom carrot seeds are preserved and passed on between farmers and growers.

Their colours are natural and have adapted over time to their environment and soil type. Heirloom carrots are sweeter and have more nutritional benefits, than the orange carrot.

In this recipe we have used a mix of yellow and purple heirloom carrots. A great antioxidant and good source of vitamin A, K and C.

Pick a variety that's available in your area or if you are lucky create a whole rainbow of carrots!

Ingredients

• Yellow or purple heirloom and regular orange carrots - You may find a selection of heirloom carrots at your local grocery stores, if not try your nearest whole foods farmer's market. Use whatever heirloom colours are available to you, though we love the pop of colour the purple carrot gives to this dish if you can find them. And look out for any rainbow baby carrots that would also work well in this dish.
• Red onion - these are already sweet and mild, roasting them intensifies that flavour and works perfectly for this dish.
• A bulb of Garlic - cooking them unpeeled, allows them to roast in their own skin creating amazing flavour. They can then be squeezed out into the dish, adding a beautiful roasted garlic flavour.
• Fennel seeds & cumin seeds - both should be available in you local supermarket and add another flavour profile, that work amazingly with roasted carrots.
• Olive oil
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

In a few simple steps, this tasty dish will be in the oven, roasting away and creating delicious flavour:

• Preheat your oven to 180 °C / 356 °F.
• Prep your ingredients - For the carrots remove any green tops and peel. Depending on the size of your carrots, cut large carrots into chunks and leave any baby rainbow carrots whole. Quarter the red onion and break up the garlic bulb, but keep the cloves in their skin.
• Mix the carrots, red onion, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, garlic, olive oil and salt and pepper into a large bowl.

• Place an oven-proof dish over a high heat on the stove and add all the ingredients in a single layer. Allow them to roast a little in the pan, creating some golden brown edges. This adds a little extra colour and flavour to the finished dish.

• Pop the oven-proof dish into the oven and roast for 35 minutes. (They can also be transferred to a baking sheet)
• Once ready, remove from the oven.
• Place onto your serving platter and add any additional garnishes. Serve and enjoy!

Tips from the chef

1. Keep the garlic cloves in their skin - trust us roasting the garlic this way is delicious. Once roasted the roasted garlic can then be squeezed out into the dish. Yum!
2. This is a great dish for prepping ahead. Simply prepare all the ingredients and add them all, minus the oil, to the mixing bowl. Store covered in the fridge until you are ready to roast them. Then simply add the oil and mix. Then continue with the cooking and roasting steps as per the instructions.

Topping variations

There are a few garnishes that work really well with this dish and to create different flavours and textures.

• Crumble feta over the top.
• Add a few dollops of hummus.
• Sprinkle with our homemade pistachio dukkah.
• Or just dress with a handful of microgreens.

Or add some additional vegetables to the dish. Other root vegetables like sweet potatoes, parsnips and beetroot would work well. Or even add some Brussels sprouts. Just adjust your cooking time to make sure all the vegetables are cooked.

Did you try this dish? Please leave a rating and review below. And if you have any questions about the recipe, you can ask us in the comment section below too.

Happy cooking!