Honey roasted heirloom carrots with moutarde violette dressing

We’re hunkering down for winter in Segur le Chateau. The new log burner is pumping out much needed warmth on these damp days. Despite the stark beauty of the village in the depths of winter, the recent rain has felt slightly repressive. In the last week we’ve had four consecutive days of solid rain. The usually gently meandering Auvézère was transformed into a fast-flowing torrent of water threatening to burst its banks.     

In a search at the local market for comfort food, I was delighted to come across these multi-coloured heritage carrots. In deep indigo, bright yellow, and orange, they immediately brightened my day. Apparently, before large-scale farming became the norm, diverse varieties of carrots were found across the world. With the indigo, or purple carrot being very common in Afghanistan, pink in India, and white and yellow carrots most commonly found in Europe.

In terms of nutrition, the Helpful Gardener says that purple carrots are filled with the antioxidants of blueberries! I’ll certainly be planting some of these come February.

I love the flavour of carrots, and was keen to avoid overpowering these colourful carrots with too many flavours. As such, I prepared them simply by roasting them in olive oil, honey and fresh chopped rosemary. I also made a quick sauce with locally made violet mustard and natural yoghurt.

Here’s the recipe.     

Recipe

1 Kg heirloom carrots (or regular if you can’t find heirloom)

Handful of fresh picked and chopped rosemary

Glug of olive oil

Two table spoons honey

Dressing: Two tablespoons natural yoghurt, and a ½ a tablespoon violet mustard

 

Step 1: Clean and peel your carrots

Step 2: Chop carrots into strips. Place in a baking tray and coat with honey, olive oil and rosemary. Season well.

Step 3: Roast for 30 minutes at 180C.

Step 4: For the dressing mix the natural yoghurt with the moutarde violette and serve at room temperature.