Roasted carrots make a lovely side dish because they are pretty, flavorful and easy. You have a lot of freedom when it comes to how you season them as well. You can be very simple with salt, pepper and olive oil to really taste the sweetness of the vegetable, or you can play with spices and herbs to jazz them up. Either way you can’t go wrong all while enjoying a nutritious side dish. I love using carrots with the stem because they make a beautiful presentation. Another option I love is using the tri colored carrots from Trader Joe’s, they come in a bag and are on the smaller side, they aren’t large carrots. If you can’t find either of these a bag of regular carrots will do just fine. All these options of carrots tend to also vary with their sizes and thickness. Just keep that in mind when using your best judgment on the cooking time. The thicker the carrots, the longer they will need. I have two suggestions in my recipe below. Use that as a guideline as you reach your desired tenderness of the carrots. 

Ingredients:

• 1 bag of carrots (enough to fill your baking sheet or about a pound), peeled and cleaned

• olive oil (about 2 tbsp)

• 1 tsp salt

• ½ tsp black pepper

• ½ tsp turmeric

• 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves

• 1 lemon, zest and juice

• ¼ cup crumbled feta

• ¼ crushed pistachio nuts, toasted (they may already come roasted, if not toast on a baking sheet or in a toaster oven for a few minutes until toasty, then crush).

• 2-3 tbsp freshly chopped parsley

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450. Clean and peel carrots, pat them dry, then arrange in an even layer on a baking sheet lined with foil or parchment paper.⁠

2. Drizzle the carrots with olive oil. Then sprinkle: salt, pepper, turmeric and thyme. Toss to coat evenly.⁠

3. If they are skinny or smaller bake for ⁠20 to 25 minutes. If they are pretty thick and big carrots, they will need about 30 to 35 minutes. Turn/toss the carrots halfway through.

4. Remove the carrots from the oven, before serving garnish with toasted pistachios and feta. Use half the lemon (or whole if you want more zesty flavor), sprinkle with lemon zest and juice then top with fresh parsley. Serve hot or at room temp.

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