It’s our birthday!
Blue Cayenne is nine years old.
Our first post was on October 6, 2015. Here we are more than six hundred posts later still cooking and writing and photographing. Who knew? We certainly didn’t. Neither I nor my ever faithful Chief Quality Officer, Sweet Juliet, expected that we would still be publishing nine years later.
Blue Cayenne is a personal blog—a vanity project in every sense of the word. We don’t sell products. We don’t sell subscriptions. We just exist for the love of cooking and baking and writing and sharing…and, in the often elusive hope of learning to be a better photographer.
This recipe is from Marcia Clark’s Dinner In One cookbook. You can buy the cookbook through your local bookstore or on Amazon here.
Here is the recipe as I prepared it in my kitchen.
Thank you for reading Blue Cayenne. Thank you for your support and encouragement.
Caramelized Carrots With Olives and Crispy Parmesan
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds carrots (peeled and sliced lengthwise)
- 1/3 C. green olives (pitted, crushed and chopped)
- 1 large garlic clove (minced)
- 1 1/2 T fresh lemon juice
- 1/8 t. crushed red pepper flakes (or to taste)
- 6 T. olive oil
- 1/2 t. kosher salt
- 3/4 t. cumin seeds
- 1/2 C. shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 C. chopped fresh mint or basil (for garnish)
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. and line a baking sheet with parchment.
- Step 2 Peel and slice carrots.
- Step 3 Prepare dressing for carrots. Combine olives, garlic, lemon juice, red pepper flakes, and a generous pinch of salt. Whisk, adding 4 T. olive oil. Set aside.
- Step 4 Place the carrots on the baking sheet you’ve covered with parchment. Toss the carrots with 2 T. extra-virgin olive oil and salt. Arrange carrots in a single layer. Bake for 20 minutes at 425 degrees F.
- Step 5 Remove carrots from the oven and toss with cumin seeds. Sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese over the carrots. Bake for another 15 to 20 minutes. You want the carrots to be tender. The Parmesan will bake to a nice light brown crunchy texture.
- Step 6 Remove the carrots from the oven. Arrange artfully on a serving dish. Drizzle the olive oil dressing evenly over the carrots while the carrots are still hot. Garnish with chopped mint.
