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Grilled Carrots With Yogurt, Carrot-Top Oil and Dukkah
![Grilled Carrots With Yogurt, Carrot-Top Oil and Dukkah](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2020/02/19/dining/14Ottorex1/merlin_168725634_b46ec8ce-488c-486d-a1de-df8af7754d05-articleLarge.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
- Total Time
- 1 hour
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- 2¼pounds/1 kilogram (6-inch/15-centimeter) carrots with greens attached
- ¾cup/40 grams roughly chopped fresh tarragon leaves
- ½cup/120 milliliters olive oil, plus more for greasing the pan
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3tablespoons/50 grams honey (runny honey)
- 1tablespoon plus 1½ teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1⅔cups/400 grams full-fat Greek yogurt
- ¼cup/35 grams blanched hazelnuts, toasted
- ¼cup/35 grams pine nuts, toasted
- 2tablespoons coriander seeds, toasted
- 1tablespoon plus 1½ teaspoons black and white sesame seeds, toasted
- 1teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted
- 1teaspoon dried oregano
- ½teaspoon sweet paprika
- ¼teaspoon kosher salt
For the Carrots and Carrot-top Oil
For the Dukkah
Preparation
- Step 1
Wash and peel the carrots and trim the tops, leaving about 1 inch/3 centimeters of the greens attached. Measure out 1 packed cup/40 grams leafy carrot tops and wash well to get rid of any grit. Squeeze out as much water as possible, and pat dry. Roughly chop the carrot tops then transfer them to a blender.
- Step 2
Add the tarragon, 6½ tablespoons/100 milliliters oil and a small pinch of salt. Blitz until completely smooth, scraping down the sides as needed, then transfer the mixture to a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl. Strain the mixture, extracting as much oil as possible. (You should have about 3 tablespoons/45 milliliters.) Discard the solids.
- Step 3
Meanwhile, prepare a steamer for your carrots by heating water in your steamer or setting a colander over a large pot with a few inches of simmering water. Once ready, add the carrots and steam for 10 minutes, or until you can easily pierce the thick parts with a knife but the carrots are not overly soft. Transfer the carrots to a large, shallow dish along with the remaining 1½ tablespoons/20 milliliters oil, plus ½ teaspoon salt and a good grind of pepper. Toss to combine.
- Step 4
In a large bowl, whisk the honey, vinegar and a tiny pinch of salt. Set aside.
- Step 5
Make the dukkah: Add all the dukkah ingredients to a food processor and pulse a few times until the nuts are roughly chopped. (You should have 1 scant cup.)
- Step 6
Heat a well-oiled grill pan over high. Working in a few batches to avoid overcrowding, grill the carrots on all sides, about 6 minutes per batch. Transfer the grilled carrots to the bowl with the honey dressing, and toss gently to combine.
- Step 7
Season the yogurt with ¼ teaspoon salt, then spread it out on a large platter. Drizzle all over with the carrot-top oil then add the carrots, arranging them artfully so they’re all facing the same direction. Spoon a generous amount of dukkah on top and pass the rest.
- To make your own labneh, combine 2¾ cups/650 grams plain full-fat yogurt with ½ teaspoon kosher salt in a medium bowl. Transfer the mixture to a colander lined with cheesecloth or a clean tea towel, folding the overhang over the yogurt. Place the colander over a larger bowl and top with a couple cans or other heavy items to apply weight to the mixture. Refrigerate overnight or up to 48 hours, then squeeze out any excess liquid and transfer the labneh to a container.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
That's a lot of work (both prep and clean-up) and time for a side dish. 2-step steaming & grilling could be eliminated by cooking the carrots in 1/8 inch of water in a cast-iron skillet, and then "dry-roasting"/charring them in the same pan once the water has been absorbed, maybe adding 1/2 tsp. of oil to prevent sticking. Also, small-batch Greek-style yogurts WITHOUT pectin at Whole Foods are a better alternative to bought labneh, in which US manufacturers misguidedly use cream. Just sayin'.
What a mess when I followed the recipe. I had a sink and a sieve covered with oil which made my dishwasher (my spouse) upset. The two step cooking of the carrots was too much work. But the dukkah topping was delicious. So this time I am oven roasting the carrots after drizzling them with oil. I blitzed the carrot tops with oil and made a dressing with the oil and honey and vinegar. Top with dukkah. Easier and yummy.
How great it is to have the recipe include metric! Thank you -- I'm not a USA citizen you can tell! HOWEVER if you're using (divinely naturally sweet) 'baby' carrots (as shown ) you only need to very lightly 'scrub' them clean..peeling would mean you'd have very little carrots left at all! I also microwave mine very short time in a cling film-covered Pyrex ..dead easy! & less fuss/washing up. Oh & high quality dukka mixes are now readily avail for the time-poor cooks out there!
A classic Ottolenghi recipe insofar as it's a massive pain, and totally worth it. Did not make the labneh, used full fat greek yoghurt and can't think how it would have been better. Dukkah is delicious.
Will forego the carrot top oil else the rabbits will be without.
Really, truly, lovely - a joy to make and eat. Not difficult, but a lot of steps, so it would be good to pair with simpler dishes. The first 5 steps can be done well ahead, and steps 6-7 completed just before serving. Teamwork could also help (one person peels carrots and makes dukkah, the other chops carrot tops/tarragon and makes oil ... one person steams and grills the carrots, the other prepares the oil/salt, the honey/vinegar/salt, the yogurt/salt).
I love this recipe. Simplified it: Made the dukkah (use it on salmon, many foods). Made the labneh so I could have it with honey on strawberries later. but good yoghurt works almost as well. Lay the labneh on a plate, added very good store-bought pesto, put on the carrots which I roasted entirely before marinating them a few min in the honey dressing), and topped with the dukkah. Pretty easy. Wonderful.
Wonderful. Simpified: Make labneh ahead instead of yogurt. (not simplified, sorry) Make dukkah ahead, keeps for weeks (and weeks) Roast carrots and lay in honey cider bath while waiting to lay it all out. Buy good store-bought pesto (tho carrot tops are good, just blend with oil) Then put it together. Labneh, carrots, pesto, dukkah. Great leftovers. The reason to make labneh is you can make extra, put it on strawberries with a little orange rind & honey. Excellent dessert.
As a huge Ottolenghi fan I’ve learned to apply common sense to simplify his process while keeping the spirit of the dish and most ingredients. Here, simply grill the carrots without steaming them first and use quality pre-made dukkah, baharrat or zaatar. Making the carrot top oil is easy and fast — just press on the oil/greens in a sieve and let it continue to drip while grilling the carrots. This needn’t take more than 20 - 30 minutes, from beginning to end, in addition to pre-heating the grill
For me no oil dripped through the carrot top. So what though? I just blended the mixture.
My husband loves carrots and he says this is the best carrot dish he’s ever had. They just get the treatment. It’s worth it. Hold their own next to a bone in NY strip. I don’t mess with labneh I just add salt to some Greek yogurt. Also if you don’t want to buy tarragon just for this just sub whatever herbs you have on hand, you’re straining it anyhow. The leftover dukkah is fire on salads and whatnot.
I enjoyed them more sans yogurt. Otherwise, I would double or even triple the amount of salt for the yogurt.
As noted, lots of steps and mess. The Dukkah needs a little more spice. Will try to simplify next time.
People talking about it being a lot of work for a side dish: yogurt is protein and carrots are vegetables. Why not just serve it with some good bread and call it a meal?
This was insanely good, and I will definitely be making the carrot-top oil again and the dukkah but WOW this is a lot of work for a side or mezze. I would maybe almost make this in parts ahead of time and then assemble for the meal.
I cut my carrots in half lengthwise and followed the cooking times. They were still firm in the center. The oil, seasoning and vinegar mixture are not hard to make. They can all be made in advance. Next time I am going to roast the carrots.
Time intensive - big dinners only with prep in advance
Beautiful, remarkable, memorable dish… if not for the time, mess and effort that goes into it as a side. I was grateful to have leftover dukkah for a topping for other snacks for the rest of the week, but don’t think I could make this again due to the immense effort involved.
Made it for dinner last night and it was gone in a flash! The carrot top oil was a little fiddly but worth the effort. I make dukkah in larger quantities regularly so it did cut down on prep time - I use a different recipe altogether. Will make this again soon!
So good! I skipped steaming the carrots and just grilled them over low heat on my gas grill in a grilling basket. The basket kept the carrots from getting too charred and they were amazing!
I was intimidated by the "Most Helpful" notes here, but man was this worth it (and honestly, the mess wasn't that bad). I dry roasted the carrots as another user suggested, and added parsley to the carrot top oil since the store chopped the leaves off. Made this for a dinner party, and it was the most gorgeous thing on the spread, as well as maybe the most beautiful thing I've ever made. Not only that, but it was the biggest hit of the night. I look forward to using the leftover oil on vegetable
Instead of grilling, I roasted the whole carrots (with olive oil) in a 400 oven for about 45 minutes, then tossed with the honey/vinegar. Very tasty dish.
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