SKIP TO RECIPE

Here on Vashon Island we have a ton of small family farms, thus we have the most darling farmer’s market. On Saturday afternoons, I love walking through and buying up a few of the seasonal veggies and the homemade cheeses. One cow dairy farm makes my favorite fromage blanc everrrr and another goat dairy makes incredible feta and marbled blue. Anyways, last Saturday I had a whole $3 dollars cash left in my wallet, so I grabbed a bunch of these adorable, thick bodied, gangly ended little guys and today's post is going to be as short and sweet as they are.

I love chimichurri because it’s a great way to use up whatever herbs you have that may otherwise go bad. It’s traditionally made with parsley as the main herb component, but I decided to use those gorgeous carrot top greens that might not been utilized otherwise. I actually used no parsley at all, but threw in a few sprigs of cilantro I had waiting to wilt in the fridge and a handful of basil from my window plant. I didn’t have a fresh chili on hand, so I used crushed red pepper. So if you don’t have exactly the same ingredients, don’t stress it.

These carrots were so good, I never even transferred them to a plate. We shamelessly stood over the pan at the kitchen counter and ate them with our hands like they were finger food on an appetizer tray at a party instead of what was meant to be the side dish with dinner. No kidding, these are oddly addicting and absolute showstoppers. They are also unbelievably easy, perhaps utilizing ingredients you already have in your fridge and pantry. Did I also mention that they are, lets see: Dairy free, gluten free, vegan, and paleo/whole 30? Not that it really even matters, because dietary restrictions or not, these are downright delicious.

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WHAT YOU'LL NEED

1 bunch of carrots with greens still attached
Salt, Pepper and Olive Oil for roasting

For the Chimichurri:

3/4 cup (one very large handful) carrot top green leaves, thick stems removed
1/4 cup roughly chopped green herbs such as Mint, Basil, Cilantro, or Parsley.*
1 tsp crushed red chili or sriracha flakes, or 1/2 a raw jalapeño or fresno chili
3-4 cloves of garlic
1/8 red onion or 1 shallot
1 tsp large flake or kosher salt
1 tsp dried or 1 Tbs fresh oregano
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil

*I used about 5-6 cilantro sprigs and 10-12 basil leaves

WHAT YOU'LL DO

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F

Trim the ends off the Carrots, wash them, slice fat ones lengthwise and leave skinny ones whole so they are somewhat uniform in width. Throw them in a bowl and toss with 1 Tbs olive oil, a pinch each of salt & pepper, and turn out onto a baking sheet in a single layer. Roast for 15-20 mins, turning over halfway through, until they have a nice color and are fork tender. If you wish, At the end you could broil them for less than a minute to get some nice color on them.

While the carrots roast, make the Chimichurri.

Put all ingredients besides the olive oil in a food processor and pulse until very finely chopped or alternately, mince them by hand. Combine the ingredients in a small bowl and whisk in the olive oil. Let stand at room temp so flavors can meld while the carrots continue to roast. Top the carrots immediately after coming out of the oven and serve!

Serving size will depend on the size of the carrot bunch you buy and the carrots themselves, but I would say plan on 4 side servings per bunch. You can easily scale this larger by doubling the amount of carrots without having to adjust the chimichurri ingredients, you will still have ample topping. This recipe makes about 1 cup of Chimichurri, so you will most likely have some left over after you top the carrots. It keeps well in a jar for 2-3 weeks in the fridge, but it won’t last that long anyway. Top anything else you can dream up with it.

Yum