Carrots and ginger are a natural pairing and these Roasted Rainbow Carrots with Ginger Brown Butter Sauce are a next level version of that classic flavour combo. That’s a mouthful of a recipe title, I know, so let’s take a closer look at what goes into this deliciousness.
Preparing the carrots for roasting
Roasting vegetables is a simple way to bring out their flavour, and carrots are no exception, with roasting bringing out their sweet, caramel, earthy notes. But we’re not just roasting carrots, we’re roasting rainbow carrots, in a glorious autumnal array of amber, orange, vermillion, and a deep dark purple. Hello, instant visual appeal!
Here's how to prepare them for roasting:
- 1Give them a good scrub.
- 2If desired, peel them.
- 3Cut them into similar-sized pieces, so they will roast evenly.
- 4But them on a baking sheet, and brush with a few teaspoons of melted butter, margarine, or olive oil.
- 5Roast for about 30 minutes, or until your preferred level of doneness.
Making the Ginger Brown Butter Sauce
The Ginger Brown Butter Sauce adds a gingery, buttery, nutty layer of goodness that will have you standing at the kitchen counter dipping your roasted carrots into the sauce, before they even make it to the table. This zingy, palate-pleasing sauce starts with either vegan brown butter or regular brown butter. If you’re not a convert to brown butter yet, this is a good place to start. Brown butter’s one of those magical ingredients that makes everything that it touches better. And it’s so simple to make! Just one ingredient for the vegetarian version and two for the vegan version. Once the brown butter’s made, it’s a matter of sizzling up a generous amount of diced ginger in the butter, and then pureeing the ginger/butter mixture until smooth. That’s it!
Our gingery, buttery, colourful carrots are finished with a healthy sprinkling of roasted sunflower seeds for a subtle crunch, and cilantro for a bright, citrusy freshness. If you’re one of those unfortunate people who finds cilantro unpleasantly soapy, fresh parsley would make a good replacement.
Roasted Rainbow Carrots with Ginger Butter Sauce, a beautiful and tasty side, easy enough for a weeknight dinner, but festive enough for a special occasion.
Tips for mixed groups
For this recipe, you can roast the carrots with melted butter, margarine, or even olive oil, so it’s easily made vegan. The sunflower seeds and cilantro are off course vegan-friendly too.
You can make the Ginger Brown Butter Sauce vegan or vegetarian. If you have a mixed group, it’s easy enough to make both versions, as the Brown Butter base takes about the same amount of time, and follows a very similar process, but obviously you will need to make it in two separate pans.
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Recipe Card
Roasted Rainbow Carrots with Ginger Brown Butter Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 pounds rainbow carrots, sliced into even-sized pieces
- 1 tablespoon melted butter or margarine, or oil
For the Ginger Brown Butter Sauce
- 1/4 cup fresh ginger, diced
- 1/2 cup brown butter or vegan brown butter {See Instructions for links}
To Garnish
- 1/4 cup roasted sunflower seeds
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro {Or sub with parsley if you don't like cilantro}
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Prepare the carrots:
Slice the carrots lengthwise into relatively even-sized pieces. Place them on a baking sheet and brush with melted butter/margarine or oil. Roast for about 30 minutes, or until desired tenderness. - Prepare the ginger brown butter sauce: Make the brown butter or vegan brown butter and take the butter off the heat as it starts to turn amber brown. If you are making the vegan version, remove the pecans and reserve for another recipe.
Add the diced ginger to the brown butter and cook on low heat for 2-3 minutes to soften the raw ginger flavour. Transfer the brown butter and ginger to a blender and blend until smooth. - To serve, pour some ginger brown butter sauce on the roasted carrots, then sprinkle with the sunflower seeds and fresh cilantro. Serve the extra sauce alongside.
