Roasted Carrots with Pesto! Sometimes, you don’t need to do anything fancy to have a delicious meal. Aren’t these roasted carrots beautiful?
Roasted vegetables. I could seriously eat them all day long. Roasting any vegetable, I roast at 425 or higher, helps to bring out an amazing depth of flavor. The dry heat of the oven caramelizes the natural sugars in vegetables and, when roasted properly, you are left with something pretty spectacular.
Tips When Roasting Vegetables
If you follow these tips, you are sure to get delicious and flavorful roasted vegetables:
- Don’t crowd your baking sheet. Give your vegetables some space on the baking sheet. I like to line mine with unbleached parchment paper, or don’t use anything. General rule of thumb: don’t let the vegetables touch each other.
- If cutting your vegetables, roast cut-side down. This works great for brussels sprouts, potatoes and anything else where you would have a cut side to lay flat onto the baking sheet.
- Don’t use too much oil. You want enough to mildly coat your vegetables but you don’t want them swimming in oil when you put them into the oven.
- While roasting in the oven, pull out your tray halfway through, give them a good toss and put them back into the oven.
- Season your vegetables! Sometimes all you really need is salt and pepper but seasonings work great too. I love lemon pepper seasonings and sometimes a little garlic powder.
Simple Lunch: Roasted Carrots with Pesto
I love roasting carrots. Roasted carrots are something special. I love the color, taste and everything about them. Carrots might be my favorite vegetable that I love both raw and roasted. If you’ve never roasted carrots before, what are you waiting for?
Sometimes, we all need a break. I enjoyed these on a day where I stayed in. Drank some coffee while listening to classical music, my new thing, and got caught up on some work. I am usually always on the go, always doing something and moving fast. I’m trying to get better about slowing down a little and just reflecting and sitting in quiet. This is something I need to work on; I’ve never been good at sitting still. I haven’t read a book in a while and am just trying to take a step back and breathe.
Roasted Carrots with Pesto
Ingredients
- 1 lb. carrots assorted
- 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil extra virgin
- kosher salt and pepper
- pesto
- fresh basil for garnish
- finishing olive oil* if desired
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
- Using a lined baking sheet. Spread your carrots onto the baking sheet in an even layer, making sure they are spread apart. Drizzle lightly with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Roast in the oven for about 25 to 30 minutes, pulling out the tray halfway through and tossing the carrots.
- Serve: plate your carrots and top with some pesto, fresh basil and a finishing oil if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
Here is the delicate lemon olive oil that I love.
