Roasted Carrots Over Lentil Hummus And Lemon Yogurt Recipe

The humble carrot is an ingredient that is more often than not pushed to the side, used as a simple vegetable add-on, instead of taking center stage in recipes. However, there is a lot to celebrate when it comes to this vibrant veggie, and it deserves to have its place as the starring role as much as any other ingredient.

This well-known root vegetable may be commonly found on the supermarket shelves these days in its bright orange form, however, did you know that carrots used to mostly be purple in color? Rumor has it that this veggie was cultivated to be orange as an homage to William of Orange, though, in all likelihood it was, in fact, due to their sweeter flavor and less potent capacity for staining cooking utensils.

This roasted carrots over lentil hummus and lemon yogurt recipe, created by Tasting Table recipe developer Jennine Rye, pairs deliciously caramelized roasted carrots with the spiced earthiness of lentil hummus and a zingy lemon yogurt. Finished off with fresh cilantro, fruity pomegranate, nutty sweet pine nuts, and the unique tang of sumac, the components of this recipe combine beautifully to make a show-stopping dish that showcases carrots at their very best.

To begin this roasted carrots over lentil hummus and lemon yogurt recipe, first, you will need to gather the ingredients. For the roasted carrots you will want carrots, garlic cloves, dried thyme, olive oil, and salt and pepper. For the hummus, you will need red lentils, tahini, garlic paste, lemon juice, smoked paprika, and cumin. For the lemon yogurt, you will also require Greek yogurt, more garlic paste, and lemon juice. Finally, to serve this dish, you will want pomegranate seeds, pine nuts, cilantro, and sumac.

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Peel and cut the carrots lengthways in half, or into quarters if they are particularly large.

Add the carrots to a large oven tray along with 2 cloves garlic, dried thyme, salt and pepper, to taste, and 3 tablespoons olive oil.

Place into the oven to roast for 45 to 50 minutes, until the carrots are soft and turning brown at the edges.

Meanwhile, heat up a large pan of water and cook the red lentils for 10 minutes, or according to instructions, until soft.

Drain and then set the lentils aside to cool.

Add the lentils to a food processor along with the tahini, ¼ cup olive oil, 1 teaspoon garlic paste, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, smoked paprika, cumin, ½ teaspoon salt, and ⅓ teaspoon black pepper.

Blend the ingredients to form a slightly textured hummus; add a tablespoon or two of water if needed to loosen the mixture a little.

In a medium sized bowl, combine together the yogurt with 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 tablespoon olive oil, ½ teaspoon garlic paste, and salt and pepper, to taste.

Serve the roasted carrots warm, on top of the red lentil hummus and with the lemon yoghurt, topped with the pomegranate seeds, pine nuts, cilantro, and sumac.

As there are many components to this roasted carrots recipe, it may prove difficult to obtain all of the necessary ingredients. Luckily, there are many simple adaptions that can be made to this recipe, making it as accessible as it is delicious. While carrots should be easy to come by, it is also possible to add a bit more color and variation to this already colorful dish by using rainbow carrots instead of the orange variety.

If time is a precious commodity for you, it is possible swap out the homemade lentil hummus for a store-bought variety of your choosing. Or, if you just want to make things a little simpler, using ready-cooked and canned lentils, or even canned chickpeas are both great options to make the process a bit quicker. Finally, there are many great topping options for this dish, you don't have to stick with what the recipe has to offer. Cilantro is delicious, but mint or parsley also make great toppings for this carrot dish, or you could add some peppery arugula for a different flavor.

It's always important to think about how a recipe can be stored; using up leftovers means reducing food waste, as well as making the most of the delicious food you have spent time and money creating. Luckily, any leftovers from this roasted carrots recipe can easily be stored and enjoyed at a later date. It is also a good option for batch cooking to enjoy throughout the week for lunches.

To store this dish and keep the individual components at their best, we recommend storing them separately and combining them only when you have them on your plate to eat. It is a really beautiful dish when served up on a platter, however, the hummus will start to oxidize when left out in the open – even with the lemon juice included in the mixture. So, unless you can be reasonably sure that everything will be eaten, simply place the roasted carrots, the lentil hummus, and the lemon yogurt into individual, airtight containers in the fridge, and then they can be kept for up to 4 days. This has the added bonus that you can warm up the carrots again before enjoying them.