Spicy Roasted Carrots with Tahini Butter
My friend, Carrie, recently emailed me a link to a recipe she had made for sweet potatoes with tahini butter. Also recently, I had ordered two jars of Soom tahini, which has been praised as a superior tahini by Michael Solomonov and many others. So I decided to give it a try.
First dinner on the porch of 2020!
The original recipe steamed or boiled chunks of sweet potatoes, not really sure which, as it seemed like more work than just baking a large sweet potato which Hank and I had planned to share. So I just drizzled the tahini butter over the sweet potato halves and I was hooked on the flavor. It was an amazing dinner with steak and the last ramps of the season, grilled, and it was the first evening warm enough to eat on the porch!
What makes the Soom brand of tahini so wonderful is that although some oil rises to the top, the tahini below isn’t as solid as most other brands I have used, and you can stir it up so much more easily. As a result the tahini mixes into the softened butter with little effort.
A few nights later, I pulled out some carrots and decided to roast them with a bit of spice and heat, and figured tahini butter would be a good complement to the flavors. I didn’t bother to look at the previous recipe, and devised the combination below. (Omit the fish sauce for vegan.) As much as I liked the sweet potato, this was even better. I have a feeling I may be trying this on all sorts of vegetables!
Roasted Carrots with Tahini Butter
Serves 2
Carrots a few nights later!
4-6 carrots, cut into batons (see photo)
1-2 Tablespoons olive oil
¾ teaspoon kosher salt, divided
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon Aleppo pepper or crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 Tablespoon tahini
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
½ teaspoon Asian fish sauce
Preheat oven to 425°F.
Spread the carrots on a foil-lined half sheet pan. (The foil will make clean up easier.) Drizzle with the olive oil, ½ teaspoon salt, cumin, and Aleppo pepper. Roast for 30-40 minutes until the carrots have softened and are beginning to brown.
In a small bowl, combine the butter, tahini, soy sauce, lime juice, fish sauce, and remaining ¼ teaspoon salt. Use a spoon or small spatula to mash the butter and the tahini together, and to incorporate the remaining ingredients.
Arrange the carrots on a serving platter or directly onto dinner plates, and place dollops of the tahini butter on top.