An exciting side dish for spring: roasted carrots with scallion vinaigrette, juicy raisins, salty feta cheese, and crunchy hazelnuts. It’s simple to make, yet bursts with flavor and texture. A great recipe to keep in your back pocket when you need a vegetable dish to add on to any springtime dinner menu!
roasted carrots with scallion vinaigrette – the details
This dish embodies how I love to cook – taking a simple ingredient like carrots and elevating them in a way that makes them a little bit more exciting.
When it comes to vegetables, the process of roasting them simply with olive oil and salt, and then adding flavor and texture through the toppings is always a great approach.
For these roasted carrots, you’ll start with a couple bunches of beautiful rainbow carrots and cut them lengthwise so that they’re all roughly the same size (smaller ones cut in half, larger ones cut into quarters). I like to save the carrot top leaves to garnish this dish. The rest can be saved and turned into pesto or thrown into salads.
A generous coating of olive oil and a good pinch of salt are all the carrots need before getting roasted in the oven. The key is to spread them into one, even layer and roast them at a high temperature – 425°F is my go-to roasting temperature for pretty much all vegetables.
While the carrots are roasting, you can make the scallion vinaigrette which starts on the stovetop. By quickly sauteing shallots and scallions, then letting vinegar and honey come to a simmer in the skillet, you’ll create a more intensely flavored vinaigrette once these ingredients are whisked up with olive oil.
Raisins are a nice sweet, chewy addition, and by letting them plump up in the warm vinegar mixture, they’ll become extra juicy and give the vinaigrette even more texture.
Once the roasted carrots come out of the oven and the scallion vinaigrette is made, you’re ready to assemble!
Arrange the carrots on a big plate with generous spoonfuls of the vinaigrette over top. The finishing touches are crumbled feta cheese (I love the sweet & salty combo of the feta and raisins) and a sprinkle of roasted hazelnuts which add a savory crunch.
This dish is extremely versatile, too, so get creative with ingredients you have on hand or ones you especially love – you can swap out the hazelnuts for pistachios, replace the raisins with currants, or sub in a sharp manchego cheese for the feta, etc.
PrintRoasted Carrots with Scallion Vinaigrette
roasted carrots topped with scallion vinaigrette, sweet raisins, salty feta cheese, and roasted hazelnuts
servings: 4
Ingredients
- ¼ cup raw hazelnuts
- 1 ½ lbs rainbow carrots, scrubbed
- olive oil
- kosher salt
- 1 tbsp + ⅓ cup olive oil
- 1 shallot, thinly sliced
- 4 scallions, thinly sliced
- 3 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp honey
- ¼ cup raisins
- 4 oz crumbled feta cheese
- freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Place the hazelnuts onto a sheet pan. Roast for 8 minutes, or until deeply golden. Let them cool slightly. Place them in the center of a kitchen towel, wrap them up, and use the towel to rub off the skins. Roughly chop the hazelnuts and set aside. Reserve the sheet pan.
- Meanwhile, cut the carrots lengthwise so that they’re roughly the same size (the smaller ones in half and the larger ones into quarters). Reserve the carrot tops for garnish.
- Place the carrots onto the sheet pan. Drizzle generously with olive oil and toss to coat. Spread them into an even layer. Season with a pinch of salt. Roast for 25 minutes, or until tender.
- Meanwhile, heat a 10” skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tbsp of olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the shallots. Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until tender and slightly caramelized. Stir in the scallions. Cook for another minute. Reduce the heat to low and add the white wine vinegar and honey. Simmer for a minute or so. Pour the mixture into a bowl and slowly drizzle in the remaining ⅓ cup of olive oil, whisking to emulsify. Stir in the raisins. Season with salt to taste.
- Turn the oven to high broil and broil the carrots for 1-2 minutes until caramelized. Transfer the carrots to a plate. Top with spoonfuls of the vinaigrette, the hazelnuts, feta, and carrot top leaves. Season with freshly cracked black pepper.
Certainement une des meilleures recettes avec carottes !!
Thank you so much, I appreciate it!
Could you do this with green beans instead? Picky daughter!
Hi Meg! Yes, I think green beans could definitely work with these toppings. I usually just do a drizzle of olive oil, salt, pepper, and roast them at 425F for about 25 minutes. I hope you enjoy! -Kayla