Roasted carrots are also part of our Thanksgiving feast every year. Everyone loves them. 🙂 This version had a lot of brightness from the roasted orange juice, a little bit of heat from the Aleppo pepper, and crunch from the pistachios. It was my daughter’s favorite dish.

The recipe was adapted from Milk Street, contributed by Courtney Hill. I modified the proportions. I loved that I could incorporate my CSA carrots. Nice.

This recipe uses a “low and slow” method. The thought behind roasting the carrots using lower heat and longer duration is to ensure that they are uniformly tender without charring the outside. Because of the extended cooking time, the seasonings are added midway through the cooking process to prevent burning.

The original recipe recommends using slender bunch carrots. If using carrots with especially thick upper portions, cut the top lengthwise into quarters and the bottom lengthwise in half in order to create uniform pieces.

Yield: Serves 8

  • 3 1/2 to 4 pounds rainbow carrots, peeled and halved (or quartered if large) lengthwise
  • 1 1/2 T extra-virgin olive oil
  • kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 orange
  • 6 T salted butter, melted
  • 2 tsp Aleppo pepper, za’atar, or ground coriander, plus more to taste
  • 2 T raw or roasted pistachios, chopped, plus more to taste
  • 2 tsp pomegranate molasses, plus more to taste
  1. Heat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the middle position. (I set my oven to convection roast.)
  2. Divide the carrots between 2 rimmed baking sheets. Toss the carrots with the oil, 1 1/4 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of black pepper; distribute evenly.
  3. Roast for 30 minutes.
  4. Meanwhile, grate 1 teaspoon zest from the orange, then cut the orange into quarters.
  5. Drizzle the carrots with the butter and sprinkle with the Aleppo pepper and zest. Toss; then redistribute evenly.
  6. Place the orange quarters cut sides up on a baking sheet. Roast, rotating the position of the sheet pans, until a skewer inserted into the largest carrot meets no resistance, another 15 to 20 minutes, stirring once about halfway through.
  7. Squeeze the juice from 1 or 2 orange quarters over the carrots.
  8. Using a wide metal spatula, transfer to a platter, scraping up any browned bits.
  9. Taste the carrots and season with salt and pepper.
  10. Sprinkle with the pistachios and drizzle with the pomegranate molasses. Serve the remaining orange quarters on the side.