Date Roasted Carrot Salad w. Burrata, Mint & Chili

I love the transformation of humble ingredients.

Carrots are so simple and a thought I had recently was that I don’t make them enough. Though I occasionally think of baby carrots as a counterpart for hummus, for the most part, right size, whole carrots fall out of my consciousness when it comes time to grocery shopping. I find that, like eggplant or other certain vegetables, the deliciousness of a carrot is all about knowing how to treat it: not well seasoned or well cooked, a carrot would gladly be easily forgotten. So, yes, you are going to be sure to bathe these in a mixture of butter and sweet date (or fig) jam and cook until caramelized and completely melt in your mouth tender. To go the no-food-waste mile, be sure to use some of the carrot stem as a garnish.

 
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Date Roasted Carrot Salad with Burrata, Mint & Chili

Serves 2

  • 7 thin carrots, or cut in half if they are wide, total 8 oz

  • 1.5 Tbsps unsalted butter 

  • 1 Tbsp date jam (or use fig jam)

  • Small bunch of fresh thyme

  • Toasted sunflower seeds

  • 1 ball of burrata 

  • 1/2 small hot red chili, finely sliced

  • Fig balsamic

  • Fresh mint for garnish

  • OPTIONAL; carrot stems very finely minced

  • Kosher salt

  • Freshly ground black pepper

  • Neutral oil

Preheat your oven to 400F. First rinse & scrub your carrots. Trim the carrot stems down so that just a short stem remain. Keep a few of the stems without any of the leaves.

Dry your clean carrots and in a high-heat, oven safe pan (like stainless steel or cast iron), heat a little neutral oil over high heat until hot and just barely smoking. Add the carrots, making sure they can sit in a single layer. You’ll probably need a 8-10 inch pan. Add two pinches of kosher salt and a few cranks of freshly ground black pepper and toss the carrots a bit in the pan. Sear, turning occasionally, 5-7 minutes, until golden brown on all sides.

In the meantime, mix 1.5 Tbsps of melted unsalted butter with 1 Tbsp of date (or fig) jam. Add a pinch of kosher salt and stir well.

When the carrots have a slightly golden hue all over, remove the whole pan from the heat. Set on a cool burner and wait a few minutes to allow the pan to cool slightly.

Using tongs, lift carrots and place your bunch of thyme down in the pan. Place carrots back on top of the thyme, brush evenly with the butter and date (or fig) glaze and then put the pan in the oven 12-15 minutes or until carrots are fork tender all the way through.

While the carrots are in the oven, very, very finely chop a bit of thin, clean carrot stems.

Slice a hot red chili into very thin rounds. When the carrots are ready, carefully remove the pan from the oven. Pull off the bundle of thyme and move carrots to a cutting board.

Cut them on the bias into smaller segments and place into 2 bowls, layering the carrot. Cut burrata open and place a half of burrata in each bowl next to the carrots.

Top with rounds of hot chili, a few small leaves of fresh mint, toasted sunflower seeds a sprinkle of the very finely cut carrot stem.

Cut burrata open, and drizzle with fig balsamic.