Roasted Yellow Carrots with Black Garlic
Indulge in wicked black garlic butter as it’s melted and richly drizzled over roasted carrots with thyme. It’s the perfect side dish to serve up with your main fare that is both simple to execute and sophisticated at the same time.
Why You’ll Love Roasted Yellow Carrots
Black garlic is all the rage and they are certainly not reserved for restaurants or high-end menus only. They are now easier to find and really affordable too.
If you have been wanting to introduce black garlic to your home cooking but feeling a little dubious, this roasted carrots with thyme is the easy and safe way to experiment with something new. We also love creating fancy side dishes at home.
The black garlic butter is absolutely delectable and we have not made this complicated at all. Roast the yellow carrots, drizzle the butter and serve up the rest of the black garlic on the side.
If you’re not sure if the people you are cooking for will like the black garlic, you can always just leave it to the side for them to help themselves. Be warned, it may disappear faster than the heirloom yellow carrots!
What Causes a Carrot to Be Yellow?
Yellow carrots are yellow in colour because of the existence of pigments. The high presence of carotenoids in its roots is what gives carrots their bright yellow colour. The Solar Yellow is by far the brightest yellow carrot you’ll be able to find in the market.
The brightness of the yellow is also dependent on its growing conditions. Location, soil, weather and how much sun it gets will all play a part in the depth of colour.
Are Yellow Carrots Safe to Eat?
Yes, like all other varieties of carrots, yellow carrots are safe to eat. They can be eaten raw, are healthy and contain many good vitamins and minerals.
What is Black Garlic?
Black garlic is all the rage in the culinary world and truth be told, rightly so. So, exactly what is it?
To begin with, black garlic is not grown. It is not another variety of garlic.
Black garlic is the result of aging normal bulbs of white garlic. I was so excited to learn this as I thought it was an elusive type of garlic that was incredibly hard to get.
The aging process can take weeks or months, depending on how long you wish to age it for. It is done so in a tightly controlled environment with the perfect heat and humidity.
What Does Black Garlic Taste Like?
The process of aging food such as meat or cheese, for example, is so that we can create unique flavours. The same idea applies with garlic. From a texture perspective, it has a sticky consistency.
Flavour-wise, it has hints of tamarind and balsamic vinegar-like finishes with distinctive garlic tones. If you have never tasted it, just imagine eating flavoured garlic that is soft and melts in your mouth.
Recipe Overview
Flavour/Texture: The roasted yellow carrots offer firm and crunchy textures as it is doused in black garlic butter goodness. The warmth of the carrots will keep the butter melted while it is enjoyed with flecks of woody flavoured thyme leaves.
The black garlic butter is to die for. That vinegary, tamarind-like flavour is infused into the melted butter, creating a decadent drizzle. For black garlic lovers, indulge in more of this soft allium as you pick the cloves out whole.
Ease: This gluten free side dish is easy to make. You’re just roasting some yellow carrots while mashing some black garlic into melted butter. For a warm side dish, this is truly a simple recipe to follow.
Time: Only takes 25 minutes, of which 20 of those minutes the yellow carrots are in the oven. The prep for this side dish is super quick!
Ingredients
These are the ingredients you need for Roasted Yellow Carrots with Black Garlic
Heirloom yellow carrots: These carrots are available all year round albeit harder to procure from your regular supermarket. Try actual markets, farmers markets or independent grocers.
If you bought too many (like I do all the time!), you can try our Sous Vide Carrots with Hot Honey or Roasted Brussels Sprouts And Carrots.
Avocado oil: Any vegetable oil will be fine for this recipe. I like using avocado oil because of its mild taste which wouldn’t interfere with the sweetness of the carrots and the strong flavours of the black garlic.
Thyme: Love the addition of this woody and slightly floral herb. Really helps to enhance the flavours of any side dish.
Butter: Use a good quality butter as it forms an integral part of the recipe. Choose unsalted and let the black garlic flavours do all the work. This black garlic butter would also work really well with our Hasselback Butternut Squash in Garlic Butter.
Black garlic: They are becoming increasingly more available and I have seen them in regular supermarkets. As you’re hunting for yellow carrots in farmers markets, you should be able to procure some black garlic too. Or you can try a specialty providore or fine food grocers.
Variations and Substitutions
Yellow carrot substitute: Dutch carrots would be the best substitute for yellow carrots. If none, just use normal carrots but be sure to slice them thinner instead of just half as it would be too big.
Thyme replacement: Oregano and marjoram would be the best replacement for thyme. You could use lemon thyme; however, the black garlic already has a slightly sour taste, so if you like additional citrusy finishes, lemon thyme will work.
Black garlic replacement: If black garlic is not something you enjoy, you can roast up a whole head of garlic. The flavours are super sweet and would complement the yellow carrots perfectly.
Cut off the top of a whole garlic. Place in a muffin tray and drizzle with olive oil. Roast for 30-40 minutes in the oven at 200°C or 400°F.
Vegan option: Use vegan butter for a vegan friendly recipe. A nut-based butter would work better than a coconut-based butter as the coconut flavours would be too strong.
Instructions
Step by step instructions for how to make Roasted Yellow Carrots with Black Garlic
Cut yellow carrots in half, lengthwise.
Coat with avocado oil, 4 whole thyme sprigs and season with salt and pepper to taste. Place on a parchment lined sheet pan and bake for 20 minutes at 200°C or 400°F.
In a small microwave safe bowl, melt butter in the microwave for 30 seconds or until fully melted. Add 3 – 4 cloves of black garlic. With the back of a small fork, mash the black garlic into the butter until it becomes a bit of a paste.
Place the roasted yellow carrots on a serving platter. Drizzle the black garlic butter on the carrots and around the plate.
Sprinkle with remaining thyme leaves (no stalk).
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve the remaining black garlic on the side for anyone who would like more.
How to Make This Side Dish Perfectly [ExpertTips]
Perfect carrots: Don’t overcook the yellow carrots. While you may not want it to be overly crunchy, you don’t want them to be too soft either. You can always take out the carrots at the 15 minute mark to check and see how it’s going.
We adopt this for all our carrot recipes such as Roasted Maple Carrots with Stracciatella Cheese, and Roasted Rainbow Carrots with Pearl Couscous.
Similar sizes: It is always much easier to roast yellow carrots when they are of a similar size. If not, place the larger yellow carrots in the oven first and add the smaller carrot slater for a more even cook.
Great Mains for This Side Dish
What to serve with Roasted Yellow Carrots with Black Garlic? Try these delicious main dish recipes:
These roasted yellow carrots are so fantastic for some beautiful Fall warm dishes. Imagine a rich and glorious short rib ragù with pappardelle pasta that will those tummies quickly.
If you’re entertaining, this pan-seared filet mignon with shallot mustard gravy is such a great idea while a no meat day is well thought out with this vegan pot pie with filo crust.
Frequently Asked Questions
The colour of black garlic is a very deep brown on the verge of being black. It is this colour as a result of the Maillard reaction or the caramelisation of the garlic. Contrary to contrary belief, black garlic is not fermented garlic.
Black garlic goes through a regulated heat process that causes the sugars and proteins to be transformed, providing these new and interesting flavours.
The versatility of black garlic is what makes it so popular. You don’t need a lot to give you those unique flavours. Incorporating even a couple of cloves will suffice.
Some ways you can use black garlic is to simply shave them on top of your dish, puree them into sauces, bake bread with them, serve them au naturel on a cheese board or, for the adventurous, make some ice cream!
Carrots are often referred to by their colour if they are not the common orange carrot. Its correct variety is known as the names type due to the fact that its tapered tips are not sharp and it has a more rounded shoulder.
If you’re happy to serve up this dish at room temperature, you can certainly roast the yellow carrots in advance. When you’re ready to eat, give the black garlic butter 30 seconds in the microwave and drizzle over the vegetables.
These roasted carrots with thyme are simple yet sophisticated. Take advantage of its mild and sweet flavours, completely enhanced by the ever so popular black garlic. Your guests will be so impressed but we won’t tell them just how easy it was to whip up!
That’s all!
More Autumn Side Dishes
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Roasted Yellow Carrots with Black Garlic
Ingredients
- 8 yellow carrots, heirloom
- ½ tbsp avocado oil
- 8 sprigs thyme
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1 black garlic
- salt, to taste
- pepper, to taste
Click on the toggle below for conversion to US Cooking Units.
Instructions
- Cut yellow carrots in half, lengthwise. Coat with avocado oil, 4 whole thyme sprigs and season with salt and pepper to taste. Place on a parchment lined sheet pan and bake for 20 minutes at 200°C or 400°F.
- In a small microwave safe bowl, melt butter in the microwave for 30 seconds or until fully melted. Add 3 – 4 cloves of black garlic. With the back of a small fork, mash the black garlic into the butter until it becomes a bit of a paste.
- Place the roasted yellow carrots on a serving platter. Drizzle the black garlic butter on the carrots and around the plate.
- Sprinkle with remaining thyme leaves (no stalk).
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve the remaining black garlic on the side for anyone who would like more.
Notes
- Dutch carrots would be the best substitute for yellow carrots. If none, just use normal carrots but be sure to slice them thinner instead of just half as it would be too big.
- Oregano and marjoram would be the best replacement for thyme. You could use lemon thyme; however, the black garlic already has a slightly sour taste, so if you like additional citrusy finishes, lemon thyme will work.
- Black garlic is not everyone’s cup of tea. If that is the case, you can just drizzle the yellow carrots with the melted butter and serve the black garlic on the side for guests to help themselves.
- If black garlic is not something you enjoy at all, you can roast up a whole head of garlic. The flavours are super sweet and would complement the yellow carrots perfectly. Cut off the top of a whole garlic. Place in a muffin tray and drizzle with olive oil. Roast for 30-40 minutes in the oven at 200°C or 400°F.
- Vegan option: Use vegan butter for a vegan friendly recipe. A nut-based butter would work better than a coconut-based butter as the coconut flavours would be too strong.
Nutrition
*Disclaimer: Nutritional information provided is an estimate only and generated by an online calculator.
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How much butter do you use in this recipe? You have butter in the directions but not in the ingredients.
3 tbsp! Thank you for the pick up! I was editing the recipe and I must have deleted it inadvertently.