This is a favorite vegetable dish from cofounder Fanny Singer's holiday repertoire, and one that always gets tons of compliments from guests. 

Use our mortar & pestle to make the lemony-garlicky sheep's milk yogurt spread, which becomes the base for super tender, caramelized carrots. Plate on our beautiful new platter and garnish with pomegranate seeds, torn herbs, and toasted nuts or seeds for a festive finish.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

2 bunches of large carrots (the sweeter the carrot raw, the better it will be cooked)

1 cup of sheep's milk yogurt or labneh

1-2 large cloves garlic, peeled (depending on strength; if it's on the spicier side, use less)

1 tsp. ground sumac

1 tsp. Aleppo chili

1 organic lemon

1 organic tangerine (or small orange)

1/2 cup pomegranate seeds

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds or hazelnuts

1/4 torn herbs for garnish (parsley or cilantro)

Olive oil

Sea salt

Black pepper

Method:

Preheat your oven to 350F.

Cut the greens from your carrots but leave a little nub at the top. Scrub your carrots thoroughly but leave them unpeeled. If they are especially fat, cut them in half lengthwise, through the stem. Toss in olive oil to lightly coat, sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Lay in a single layer on a sheet pan and put them in the preheated oven.

Meanwhile, pound the clove of garlic in your mortar & pestle with a pinch of salt until completely pulverized. Add the zest and a tablespoon of the juice of yor lemon and allow to sit, macerating, for five minutes. 

Add a cup of sheep's milk yogurt or labneh to the bowl of the mortar and use a whisk to incorporate it well. Add the zest and juice of half your tangerine. Add the Aleppo chili and sumac and a good glug of olive oil and whisk to mix. Taste and adjust seasoning, using a bit more yogurt or olive oil to balance the flavor. 

Toast your pumpkin seeds in a pan until lightly browned and popping and set aside to cool. If using hazelnuts, toss in a tiny bit of olive oil and salt and toast on a sheet pan in the oven until lightly brown and fragrant; when cool give them a chunky chop to break them up a bit. 

Carrots will cook at different speeds depending on their size and the season, or how watery or sweet they are, or even hot oven your oven is, so cooking time will vary. It could take as few as 45 minutes, or as long as 2 hours to get them to a place where they are tender and yielding and their skin is caramelized, browned and little shriveled. It's important to keep an eye on them, but also be patient. After about 45mins to an hour, you can turn on the convection function on your oven to get them extra caramelized. The broiler will also work. That said, you definitely do not want to overcook, char, blacken or dehydrate them, so it will require vigilance at this stage (it can take a little trial and error!)

When the carrots are done, remove from the oven and set aside. Spread the seasoned yogurt on the platter using the back of a spoon to give it nice undulating waves. Lay down the carrots with the tops aligned. Sprinkle generously with pomegranate seeds, then zest the remaining half of your tangerine over everything and sprinkle a touch of juice overtop. Add your seeds or nuts. Toss a handful of herbs on top as a final touch and serve!

Note: The carrots and yogurt make a great veggie sandwich filling: just cut a length of untoasted, fresh baguette, spread on the yogurt and add the carrots and a few leaves of arugula. Without the yogurt, the carrots are also a great taco filling for a veggie taco night!