Maple and Harissa Roasted Carrots

It’s an Autumn Saturday morning in Chicago. As I sit here and type this, I’ve already seen the weather go from dark and cold, to windy and pouring rain. Now, its slightly breezy and a lovely 70 degrees F and sunshine. Why am I telling you this? Well, for one thing, my fiance is a weather geek and it’s rubbed off on me. For another thing, I’m attempting to draw the correlation between this simple carrot recipe (three distinct flavor profiles), and the three stages of this mornings weather. For the last thing, I realize this is a lame analogy … I’ll do better next time.

Silly food – weather comparisons aside, this IS a delicious and lovely carrot recipe. A great combination of sweet and spicy with a slight smoky flavor from the cumin. So easy, even your significant other couldn’t screw it up.

I love buying carrots with the leafy tops still attached. Remove tops when you arrive home and store in an airtight plastic bag in your refrigerator. They will last much longer this way. You already know this, but it’s worth reiterating that grocery store pre bagged carrots have nothin’ on fresh farmers market carrots.

Simple side dish is the name of the game here. Cut carrots, toss with glaze, and roast away. Just make sure to bring an umbrella when you leave the house today.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs (about 6-8 large) carrots
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tsp harissa chili paste, more if you like spicy
1 tsp cumin
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
Peel and trim off the ends of the carrots. Cut into quarters, first crosswise, then lengthwise.
Make glaze by combining the remainder of the ingredients.
Toss carrots in glaze.
Arrange carrots onto baking sheet in an even layer and bake for 30-35 minutes. Flip/turn carrots 2 times during the cooking process.