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Candied carrots got an upgrade in this Charred Carrots with Herb Drizzle recipe!
Many Thanksgiving tables traditionally have some version of a candied carrot, usually boiled, slices, and finished on the stove with butter and maple syrup. While they’re delicious, we took the same idea and gave it a Mediterranean spin with our charred carrots with an herb drizzle.
The rainbow carrots are roasted in the oven until they’re tender then broiled to get them charred and have the sugars from the orange and maple caramelize. If you’re trying to conserve oven space on Thanksgiving, roast the carrots in advance and store them in the fridge. Prior to serving simply bring them to room temperature and char in a cast iron skillet to warm through.
If you live near a Trader Joe’s, they sell peeled and trimmed petite rainbow carrots that are perfect for this and will save you even more time and prep ahead of Thanksgiving. If not, look for smaller carrots that are thinner so they won’t take as long to roast.
Another tip, you’ll have extra herb sauce and it is GREAT on leftovers. It’s bright and cuts through all that Thanksgiving richness so it is perfect to spread it on a turkey sandwich the next day — YUM!
Charred Carrots with Herb Drizzle
Ingredients
For the Pickled Shallots:
- ½ cup thinly sliced shallot divided (about one large shallot)
- 1 tbsp roughly chopped golden raisins
- 3 tbsp champagne vinegar
For the Carrots:
- 2 lb rainbow carrots peeled, ends trimmed, and halved or quartered lengthwise
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- juice of ½ an orange about 2 tbsp
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp Kosher salt
- Cracked black pepper
For the Herb Drizzle:
- ½ cup chopped fresh dill plus more for garnish
- ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 2 large cloves garlic roughly chopped
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp champagne vinegar
- 1 tsp. lemon zest
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- ½ tsp kosher salt
For Serving:
- ¼ cup roasted shelled pistachios roughly chopped
- loosely chopped fresh dill fronds
- loosely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- Flaky salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside.
- In a small bowl, add the shallots, golden raisins, and champagne vinegar. Stir, and set aside until you’re ready to serve.
- On the prepared baking sheet, add the carrots and drizzle with olive oil, maple syrup, fresh orange juice, smoked paprika, cumin, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Toss to coat well, and arrange the carrots, cut side down. Transfer to the oven and roast for 20-25 minutes, until they’re tender.
- Meanwhile, in a wide mouth mason jar, add the herbs, garlic, oil, vinegar, lemon zest and juice, red pepper flakes, and salt. Using an immersion blender, place the head of the blender in the bottom of the jar and begin to pulse. Blend until mostly smooth. Set aside until you’re ready to plate.
- Once the carrots are tender, turn the broiler on high and broil the carrots until they begin to char, about 2 minutes, watching carefully to not burn.
- On a serving platter, add a large spoonful of the herb sauce. Using the back of your spoon, swoosh it across the plate to make an abstract line.
- Pile the carrots atop the sauce in the middle of the platter. Drizzle over a bit more herb sauce.
- Strain the shallots and the raisins from the vinegar and sprinkle them over the carrots. Garnish with pistachios, dill, cilantro and flaky salt.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made this for our Christmas dinner and it was the star of the show! Lots of pieces to it but every part worked together wonderfully.
I don’t have golden raisins, should I add any sugar to the pickling vinegar?
I made this for our big family Thanksgiving gathering on Thursday and I will have to say this dish won for most surprised and delighted comments from the guests! Definitely a must try for anyone considering and is already considered a must add to our future holiday menus as well!
I’m making the drizzle ahead of time. Is it ok to leave out for two days or does it need to be refrigerated?
You should store it in your fridge!
Could you use a nutri bullet to blend herb drizzle as opposed to an immersion blender?
Yes, that will work just fine!
I want to bring this to a Friendsgiving. Does it need to be served warm? Any suggestions for tips to travel?
Served warm is definitely best. You could keep all the elements separate (drizzle, pickled shallots, and the roasted carrots) and toss the carrots in the oven or on the skillet just to reheat– then assemble and serve.
Pretty great room temperature too!!!!
Is there a comparable substitute for champagne vinegar?
white wine vinegar should be fine, also!
I made this for our Christmas dinner and it was the star of the show! Lots of pieces to it but every part worked together wonderfully.
Where do you find champagne vinegar? What’s the brand?
It’s usually in the vinegar section of all grcoery stores!
Tried this recipe for the first time and absolutely LOVED it; I normally eat meat often but did not miss meat for a second with this dish. All the flavors are wonderful.
Would it be possible to replace the cilantro with a different herb? What might you recommend?
You can do flat-leaf parsley here
Could this work with a non-cilantro herb? What might you recommend?