Photo by Michael Piazza / Styled by Catrine Kelty

SUBMITTED BY CHEF JAMIE BISSONNETTE OF COPPA, TORO AND TORO NYC
Editor’s note: At the restaurant, these carrots are lightly smoked with burning hay in the pan while they’re roasting, but here we’ve adapted the recipe for home cooking and omitted that step. If you’re feeling ambitious, lay 8 ounces of dried (organic!) hay over the carrots and melted butter in the pan, ignite it, and carefully cover it before placing in the preheated oven and continuing with the recipe.

Serves 4

1 pound mixed heirloom carrots (3-4 carrots)
4 ounces goat butter (or olive oil or regular unsalted butter)
kosher or sea salt freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 teaspoon nigella seeds
⅓ cup toasted hazelnuts
½ teaspoon ground sumac
1 teaspoon diced preserved lemon (or just use some grated lemon zest)
1 cup watercress or arugula
3 teaspoons Argan oil (or extra virgin olive oil)
1 cinnamon stick

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Scrub and trim most of the greens from the carrots. Split larger ones lengthwise and cut into bite-sized chunks. Melt the butter (or oil) in a large, lidded, ovenproof sauté pan and add the carrots. Season with salt and pepper, sauté 2-3 minutes, then cover and roast in the hot oven for 10 minutes until carrots are tender. Set aside.

Mix the yogurt and lemon juice in a bowl. Season the yogurt mixture with salt and pepper. Set aside.

In a small skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and add the sliced garlic. Fry until golden and crisp, 2-3 minutes. Drain on paper towels and set aside.

To serve, arrange the roasted carrots decoratively on a platter. Sprinkle nigella seeds, hazelnuts, sumac, fried garlic chips, diced preserved lemon (or lemon zest), and watercress (or arugula) on top and around the platter. Using a microplane, grate a bit of the cinnamon stick over the dish. Drizzle with Argan oil (or olive oil). Spoon a dollop of yogurt on top and serve warm.

This recipe appeared in the Fall 2015 issue.