Colin Lynch’s Roasted Carrots with Herbed Yogurt Sauce
Photo Credit : Mark Fleming/Food and Prop Styling by Catrine KeltyFor season 2 of Weekends with Yankee, we visited Chatham Bars Inn on Cape Cod for a farm-to-table dinner (part of a weekly summer dinner series open to the public) hosted by executive chef Anthony Cole with guest chef Colin Lynch of Bar Mezzana in Boston. This simple, flavorful roasted carrots recipe with herbed yogurt sauce was just one of the dinner’s many delicious dishes.
For a prettier presentation, you can buy small (1/2-inch-thick) carrots with their tops attached. Trim off all but an inch of the stems, then pick and wash some of the delicate leaves for a garnish. Also, for the dinner at Chatham Bars Inn, Lynch used fennel pollen in the seasoning, but this can be difficult to find. Freshly crushed fennel seeds are a great substitute.
20 small carrots with tops, peeled and left whole
3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Juice and zest of 1/2 medium lemon
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill (optional)
1 tablespoon minced fresh chives
1 tablespoon minced fresh mint
1/2 medium garlic clove, minced
1 1/4 cups plain whole milk Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon fleur de sel or Maldon sea salt flakes
1/2 teaspoon finely crushed fennel seeds
5 dates, pits removed, cut into strips
Carrot leaves, for garnish
Preheat oven to 375° and set a rack to the middle position. Toss the carrots with the olive oil, kosher salt, and pepper. Arrange on a baking sheet and roast until tender and caramelized, 40 to 50 minutes.
In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice and zest, herbs, and garlic with the yogurt; stir to combine. In another small bowl, stir together the sea salt and crushed fennel seeds.
Once the carrots are roasted, assemble the dish: Smear equal amounts of the yogurt mixture on four to six plates. Arrange carrots on each plate and sprinkle with date strips, carrot leaves, and fennel salt. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil.