Plant forward.
Although I’ve been hearing this everywhere, it took me awhile to figure out what exactly this meant! I mean it’s not necessarily vegetarian or vegan…
Finally, I realized it is as simple as making plants the star of the show. Now that is nutrition advice we should ALL get behind.
Let me show you one way to make it not only simple-but delicious as well! It’s so, so easy with these Roasted Carrots with Easy Thai Peanut Sauce. (and as I had just published a peanut sauce recipe a few weeks ago, these roasted carrots are quite timely-now you’ll have a great way to use that sauce!)
I attended the BEST conference ever last February. It was all about nutrition, teaching healthy eating to patients, and getting people into the kitchen. Couldn’t have been more perfect for me! Better yet it was taught at the Culinary Institute of America in Napa, California, which is not only a great destination, its also a stunning teaching kitchen. We talked all about getting more vegetables into people’s diets, and this has inspired me to want to develop more plant forward recipes, starting with these roasted carrots. (For more about the conference: read all about it here!)
Roasted carrots are one of the easiest vegetables to make and one that your kids will love. Pair them with this Easy Thai Peanut Sauce and they are even better!
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A few things I use to make these Roasted Carrots (and the sauce!)
Baking Sheets. I use these Chicago Metallic baking sheets. They have held up well, have not warped (like some of my others have) and I use them almost daily. I have at least 4 at home, and at least 4 at my cabin! (And I could still use more).
Parchment Paper. I line my baking sheets with this parchment paper. I get this large roll from Costco since I go through so much of it. I find that my baking sheets last longer when I use parchment paper. Even better-food doesn’t stick!
Food Processor: This is how I make my sauces. Throw in ingredients. Pulse to combine. Could not be easier! The true workhorse of my kitchen.
Serving Platters: Everything tastes better when it looks better! These white platters are the perfect way to display the beautiful colors of your vegetables!
America’s Test Kitchen Vegetables: This cookbook is perfect for the vegetables in your life. Organized by vegetable, it’s perfect for coming up with a plan for your CSA or farmer’s market vegetables. If you want to move beyond these simple carrots, this book is the way to go.
And now so you can see just how easy these roasted carrots are…
Roasted Carrots with Easy Thai Peanut Sauce
Roasted carrots are full of nutrition and these are a great way to dress up your meal.
Ingredients
- 1 pound carrots
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 cup Easy Thai Peanut Sauce
- 2 Tablespoons peanuts chopped
- 2 Tablespoons cilantro chopped
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
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Wash and peel carrots. Cut each carrot in half horizontally. Cut the larger half into sticks by cutting vertically. This will make your carrots closer together in size so they will roast more evenly.
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Put carrots into a gallon sized ziplock bag. Add the olive oil. Seal the bag and ensure the carrots are evenly coated.
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Spread the carrots out on the baking sheet. It is important not to crowd the carrots, so you may need a second baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt.
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Place the carrots into the oven on the middle rack. Roast for 20-30 minutes checking every 10 minutes-the carrots will become caramelized, but you want to remove them before they burn. If you have used 2 baking sheets, be sure to rotate them on the racks (The wide range of times is because carrots are different sizes-larger ones take longer, smaller ones take a shorter amount of time).
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Allow carrots to cool. Drizzle with Easy Thai Peanut Sauce. Garnish with peanuts and cilantro. Serve and enjoy.
Recipe Notes
It is really important not to crowd the carrots on the baking sheet, otherwise they will steam instead of caramelizing (which will give you underwhelming results).
Your comment about going through your new cookbooks reminded me of a dear friend who took her cookbooks to bed with her and read them like novels! We both laugh about it because NOW I find myself doing the same thing. I had hated cooking for so long because I have a picky eater for a husband, but recently said, “there’s always a can of soup and a sandwich if you don’t like what I cook.”
I ABSOLUTELY read my cookbooks like novels! I absolutely love finding out peoples opinions on food, what they’re making, how they’re doing things! I got two new ones this weekend as a belated birthday gift, and I am so excited to have the next 2 days off to spend with them! Thanks for reading!
Looks delish!!! I had never heard the term “plant-forward” but I like it!
Thanks! Plant forward has been huge amongst the Lifestyle folks and really means limiting meat (not necessarily becoming vegetarian or vegan, although that’s cool too!) I’m embracing the movement because it leads to a cleaner lifestyle which is what I’m working towards!
And now I’m starving! Pretty much anything with peanut sauce does it for me, but this is especially creative. Thank you!
Thanks Marjorie!