Charred Carrots with Apple Brown-Butter Vinaigrette
Charring carrots brings on a marvelous complex of sweet and deep that is brightened yet grounded with apples, lemon, and browned butter. It’s exciting, fresh, and you’ll never want to go to another fall feast without them. You can thank Vivian Howard from Deep Run Roots for another masterful recipe.
Anyone who is familiar with Viv’s recipes know they can be time consuming, but this one is “easy peezy lemon squeezy”. You can thank Aubrin with Chasing.Sage for that phrase as she was crushing a black diamond on a snowboard at the age of 5. Follow her for life lessons. If you’re really pressed on time, you can skip the apple brown-butter vinaigrette, but the carrots won’t be nearly as special.
I modified Viv’s method a little bit to make it quicker, but it doesn’t lose any of the flavor or texture.
Charred Carrots with Apple Brown-Butter Vinaigrette Ingredients
½ tsp salt, divided
½ tsp ground coriander
½ tsp ground fennel
1 lb medium carrots
1 Tbl avocado oil
2 scallion bottoms
1 large firm apple (like a honey crisp or envy)
1½ Tbl butter
2 Tbl pine nuts
2 springs thyme
¼ tsp chili flakes
3 Tbl lemon juice
Charred Carrots with Apple Brown-Butter Vinaigrette Directions
Preheat oven to 475 degrees.
In a bowl mix ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp ground coriander, and ½ tsp ground fennel. Lay 1 lb of carrots touching each other on a sheet pan.
Drizzle 1 Tbl avocado oil over the carrots and sprinkle the season mixture over the carrots. Use your hands to mix really well. Spread the carrots so they have plenty of space between them. Roast for about 30 min.
Place the two scallions on a chopping board with the root end facing your dominant hand. Slice off the root then slice across the white to create the thinnest white rings you can. When you hit the green portion of the plant, stop. Save the tops for a different dish.
Cut one apple. Stand it upright and with a sharp knife, slice it into ½” planks. When you hit the core, turn the apple 180 degrees and repeat. Do the same on the other two sides. Lay the planks flat and slice it into ½” strips. Turn the strips 90 degrees and slice it every ½” to create a dice.
Heat 1½ Tbl butter in a frying pan until the butter becomes a golden brown. The butter will bubble a little, white stuff will rise to the top then fall and brown. Do not go too dark because it will turn bitter.
Add 2 Tbl pine nuts to the butter. When they take on a little color, add the scallions, apple, thyme, chili flakes, and ¼ tsp salt. Taste. Add 3 Tbl lemon juice. Taste again. See the magic of lemon?
When the apples are finished, lay them on a plate and spoon over the apple brown-butter vinaigrette.
Notes
Pinon nuts have a distinct flavor so an “always” substitution isn’t the best way to go. In this dish sunflower seeds pair wonderfully with the carrots and vinaigrette.
I use 1 tsp of dried thyme in place of the sprigs.
I use Aleppo pepper in place of the more common chili flakes. I find it has a better flavor.
If you don’t have ground fennel, you can put anise seeds in the butter and strain them out before serving. You could also use sumac on the carrots the same way you would fennel.
