Whole Roasted Carrots with Thyme

Whole carrots, vegetable brush, fresh thyme

Serves 6 

(Allow 1 carrot per person + 1 or 2 extra) 

Ingredients: 

6 whole carrots with the tops on (preferably organic) 

1 TBS olive oil 

Salt & Pepper 

2 tsp fresh thyme 

Directions: 

Pre-heat oven to 375F. 

Cut the tops off, leaving about 1" of green on the top of each carrot. Using a vegetable brush, run the carrots under water and clean the carrots by scrubbing any soil off, especially around the green top. Dry the carrots and trim the tip. If you don't have a veggie brush, peel the carrots. 

Place them in a baking pan and drizzle them with the oil. Shake the pan so the carrots roll and are covered in the oil. Add pepper and fresh thyme.

Roast the carrots in the oven for 30-40 minutes depending on the size. Shake the pan occasionally for even browning. 

Remove from the oven and sprinkle with salt. 

Serve whole with serving tongs. 

These can be done ahead, and then warmed up for company. Left over carrots are nice chopped and put on a salad. 

* The organic carrots with the tops on tend to be sweeter and have thinner skins. 

You can use dried thyme or an Italian seasoning if you don't have fresh thyme. 

For fresh thyme, use you thumb and forefinger to strip the leaves off the stems by pulling the leaves off from the top of the stem to the bottom.