Chef notes
This roasted carrot dish has been a favorite since we opened, and we don’t dare take it off the menu. We add a crunch of pistachios and cumin, not traditionally Italian — this is Jody’s tweak.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (90 milliliters) lemon juice (from 2 lemons)
- 4 garlic cloves, finely grated (about 2 teaspoons)
- 1½ teaspoons (4.5 grams) salt
- 1/2 teaspoon (1 gram) chili flakes
- 1 teaspoon (3 grams) dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon (15 milliliters) water
- 3/4 cup (180 milliliters) extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup (60 milliliters) neutral oil such as safflower
- a few sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- 2 cups (500 milliliters) water
- 1 tablespoon (12 grams) sugar
- 1 pound (454 grams) multicolored carrots (about 8), peeled
- salt
- extra-virgin olive oil
- 3/4 teaspoon (2 grams) cumin seeds, toasted and coarsely ground
- 1/3 cup (80 milliliters) Salmoriglio (recipe above)
- 1/4 cup (35 grams) toasted pistachios, chopped
- 1/2 cup (120 grams) full-fat Greek yogurt
- large handful mixed fresh herbs, such as basil, mint, cilantro, parsley and chives
Preparation
For the salmoriglio:
Combine the lemon juice, garlic, salt, chili flakes, oregano and water in a small bowl. Slowly pour in the oils, whisking constantly. Stir in the parsley.
Stir briskly just before using; the lemon and garlic will have settled to the bottom. Salmoriglio is best used the day it’s made, but will keep, refrigerated, for up to 3 days.
For the roasted carrots:
Preheat the oven to 450 F (230 C). Stir water and sugar in a large baking dish to dissolve the sugar and add the carrots, coating them. Tightly cover the dish with foil and place it in the oven to steam the carrots until they’re tender when pierced with a fork, about 30 minutes. Drain off any water remaining in the dish, toss the carrots with salt and lightly coat with olive oil. Spread the carrots out in the dish and return to the oven, uncovered, to roast until browned, about 20 minutes. While the carrots are hot, toss them with about half the cumin, half the salmoriglio and the pistachios. Season the yogurt with salt and the rest of the cumin and spoon it onto a plate. Arrange the carrots on the yogurt and spoon the remaining salmoriglio over them. Refresh the herb leaves briefly in a bowl of ice water and pat them dry before piling loosely on top.
From "Via Carota: A Celebration of Seasonal Cooking from the Beloved Greenwich Village Restaurant" by Jody Williams and Rita Sodi, with Anna Kovel. Copyright © 2022 by Jody Williams and Rita Sodi. Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
