Ingredients
- 20 medium-sized carrots, with greens attached*
- 4 tablespoons shelled pistachios
- 1 orange
- 2 tablespoons harissa**
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more to taste
- 4 ounces strained Greek yogurt, plain and unsweetened
- Salt, to taste
- Honey, to taste
Preparation
1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2.Remove greens from carrots and separate the leaves from the stalks, saving the stalks for another use. Finely chop the leaves
3.Scrub the carrots with a stiff brush under cold running water to remove any traces of dirt (you can always peel them if you prefer).
4.Split the orange and squeeze out the juice, saving the orange halves for their zest later in the recipe.
5.Split the carrots lengthwise and toss them in a roasting pan with 1 tbsp. olive oil, the orange juice and a generous pinch of salt.
6.Roast carrots at until tender, about 35 minutes, stirring once or twice during the roasting to prevent the orange juice from burning. If the pan gets dry and dark before the carrots get soft, add 1Ž4 cup water, swirl around and keep cooking. Repeat as necessary.
7.When the carrots are almost done, add the pistachios and continue roasting until everything is nicely cooked and aromatic.
8.Using a fine grater like a microplane, zest half of the orange over the warm carrots.
9.Add the finely chopped carrot tops and toss again.
10.Taste the carrots and adjust with salt to your taste. If you like them sweeter a drizzle of honey helps with that. Carrots vary tremendously in their natural sweetness.
11.To serve, spoon the yogurt and harissa around the plate (dots, swirls, whatever you like) and place the carrots on top.
*If carrots with tops are unavailable, substitute with 10 full sized carrots, cut 1/4 inch thick and a bunch of fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped.
**If buying harissa, Les Moulins de Majoub makes a good one, as does Mina. We make our own and recommend doing so. For a great home friendly recipe, see Aglaia Kremezi’s “Mediterranean Hot and Spicy."
