Roasted Carrots

Perhaps one can be both a vege person and a fruit person but I definitely lean heavier towards the vegetables. I do like fruits too... berries, seedless watermelon and mangos in the summer, and satsumas and asian pears in the winter. But if I take a look a my daily food consumption (yes I keep track of all my eatings in a spreadsheet!), for the last two weeks the only fruit, not including avocados, I've consumed is 1/2 apple and a bite of peach. Vegetables? Carnival squash (technically a fruit but ignore that), green cabbage, napa cabbage, daikon, brussel sprouts, bokchoy, red leaf lettuce and cucumbers.

But carrots... I don't know about these little suckers. There are a few occasions where baby carrots with ranch dressing is totally called for. Such as the superbowl party I attended last weekend where carrots and celery with a huge tub of ranch complemented a wide variety of chicken wings. And of course I've used it in recipes that call for a bit of chopped carrots, for a brine or soup base, or anything calling for mirepoix.

But to eat it on its own? Make it the star of its own dish? Never even thought carrots had the potential of pulling this off... until I saw them roasted on Barefoot Contessa. It looked so amazing... carmelized, browned and slightly shrunken from the high-heat roasting. When I saw beautiful carrots at the farmer's market the other week I couldn't help but get a bunch with the roasted carrots image burned into my mind.

I cut them up into 1 inch pieces and roasted them at a very high heat and then drizzled some balsamic vinegar. It was delicious and visually delicious too. Roasting is probably the best way I will ever enjoy carrots. My rule of thumb is if I am going to try something I'm not crazy about or unfamilar with whether at home or out, make sure I get the highest quality possible or try at a reputable restaurant that knows how to choose and cook it to its highest potential, so that my appreciation or disdain will be the result of the clearest critique. These carrots, I will make again. :)