Spicy Maple Roasted Carrots with Crispy Chickpeas & Yogurt Sauce
5 servings
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes
Total time: 55 minutes
Recipe adopted from author Nagi of recipetineats
This is a combination of 3 simple things that are devilishly good together: slightly spicy caramelised maple roasted carrots, crispy seasoned chickpeas and a cooling, creamy yogurt sauce with a subtle hint of garlic. The chickpeas add terrific crunch and because they're a starch, you can easily serve this substantial side dish as a meal.
Ingredients
Carrots (choose one):
16 Dutch carrots , scrubbed clean and tops trimmed (keep 2cm/1″ of tops for looks)
600 g/ 1.2 lb regular carrots (5 medium), peeled, cut into quarters
Spicy maple sauce (for carrots):
3 tbsp maple syrup (or 2 1/2 tbsp honey)
2 tbsp sriracha
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
Crispy seasoned chickpeas:
400g/ 14 oz can chickpeas , drained but not dried
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
Extra sauce (optional)
1 tbsp maple syrup
1/2 tbsp sriracha
Lemon garlic yogurt sauce:
1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 tsp garlic , finely grated
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
Garnishes:
2 tbsp finely chopped coriander/cilantro leaves (sub parsley)
3 tbsp toasted pistachios
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Arrange the oven racks so they are 8" apart (for air circulation).
Chickpeas & carrots – Drain the chickpeas then spread on a tray (still wet). Toss the carrots with the Spicy Maple Sauce ingredients. Put both trays in the oven (carrots on the top shelf).
Crispy chickpeas – Remove the oven dried chickpeas from the oven after 10 minutes (check notes below). Push them to one side of the tray, drizzle with the oil and sprinkle with the chickpea spices, salt and pepper. Toss well using a rubber spatula, then return to the oven for a further 20 – 25 minutes until they're crispy (listen for the clatter when you shake the tray – or eat one!)
Carrots 30 min – Roast the carrots for 30 minutes, tossing halfway, until they are tender and caramelized on the edges.
Yogurt Sauce – Mix the ingredients in a bowl and set aside for at least 20 minutes to allow the flavors to develop.
Extra sauce – Mix until combined.
Assemble – Spread the yogurt sauce on a plate. Pile on the carrots, scraping out every drop of juices on the tray. Drizzle with extra sauce, if using. Sprinkle over chickpeas, then coriander and pistachios. EAT!
Recipe Notes
Spice note: Not that spicy, roasting takes the spicy edge of sriracha a bit. If you’re concerned, cut back then if you want more spiciness at the end, just add a bit more sriracha when making up the Extra Sauce.
Carrots – I use dutch for visual purposes and because when I made this for the photos, dutch carrots were on special. But regular carrots can be used in a pinch. Cut them vertically into dutch-carrot width long pieces (quarters for normal carrots, half for small ones)
Extra sauce – I like to add a touch of extra sauce at the end because all the sauce caramelises in the oven and coats the carrots (as intended). I also like the vinegary tang that the sriracha brings to the dish.
Pistachios – A late addition to this dish included in the video that just made it even better! For flavour and also looks good. But it’s optional. Toast over medium heat in a dry skillet (no oil) until there are small golden patches. Remove, cool, chop.
Roasted chickpeas should be crispy on the outside but still soft on the inside. The initial 10 minute dry roasting will make these oven chickpeas crispier than the usual technique of air or towel drying then roasting, but the fact is they will never be as crispy as deep frying (and that’s ok, our hips are happy with this) and they don’t stay crispy for longer than 2 hours UNLESS you roast them for 45 minutes until they are rock hard all the way through (these are a little too hard to eat, in my opinion)
Leftovers will keep pretty well for a day, bring to room temp them eat (it’s a bit messy to separate yogurt from carrots to heat the carrots). Otherwise keep the components separate and heat the carrots. Oven chickpeas don’t stay crispy for longer than a couple of hours.
