THE HUMBLE CARROT can be elevated to a restaurant-worthy side dish that really shines—all it takes is a simple roasting technique plus a quick crunchy topping and a few choice add-ins.
Roasting the carrots on a baking sheet on the lowest oven rack, closest to the heating element, ensures intense browning on the sides touching the sheet. And pouring melted unsalted butter onto the sheet before roasting helps caramelize the carrots while adding a nutty flavor and some richness (olive oil is often used but isn’t the best way to get the most flavor). The result is a mix of textures—tender middles and roasty edges—with deep sweetness and even a welcome touch of natural bitterness from caramelization.
To dress up the butter-roasted carrots, this recipe leans into ingredients that provide textural interest. When sprinkled over the warm carrots, bright, tangy goat cheese tempers and becomes silky and creamy. Then there’s the crumble. This crowning touch comes from dry-toasting hazelnuts and whole seeds (sesame and coriander) to bring out their flavors, freshening the mix with aromatic thyme and lemon zest, and then finely chopping it all in a food processor. This nutty, spice‑forward crumble coats the carrots and introduces some crunch while adding spices that pair beautifully with the goat cheese and pepperoncini.
BUTTER-ROASTED CARROTS WITH HAZELNUT CRUMBLE AND GOAT CHEESE
Serves 6 to 8 Total Time: 1½ hours
Look for carrots that are 1 to 1½ inches in diameter at the larger end; larger or smaller carrots may need to be cooked
