A couple of weeks ago, I visited my in-laws in Washington, DC, but we also paid a visit to a couple of Smithsonian museums, including the Botanical Gardens.
In one of the exhibits, we found a black wall painted with the words “What tastes like home?” and people were invited to write their answers on Post-Its and add them to the wall.
On them, people wrote dishes like khichdi (the South Asian rice and lentil dish), raclette (melted mountain cheese, usually served over potatoes), miso soup, and pancakes. Someone also wrote Taco Bell. ;)
It reminded me that my daughter might not have dishes in her mind that “taste like home.”
As a professional recipe developer and curious cook, I’m always trying some new-to-me recipe. Plus, I grew up detached from my German and Irish culinary heritage, likely due to a lot of factors. (Hardship, assimilation, and fashion play a role, I’m sure, as does the fact that some people from these cultures — and perhaps those I descend from — did not find pleasure in food…and maybe, especially their food.)
When I asked my daughter, what tastes like home, she made a joke about pizza, which we usually order take-out. Gee, thanks.
But when I probed further, she said, maybe roasted carrots and lentils.
On the cover of my book, Modern Potluck, you’ll find this dish. It’s one that I continue to make multiple times a month as soon as it’s cool enough to turn on the oven. I rarely follow the recipe as written in the book (even though it’s really good!), andI’m always playing around with the spices, add-ons, and herbs, or in the case of the recipe I’m sharing here, the legume.
Roasted carrots served in sexy multi-textured salads haven’t always been so ubiquitous. I remember trying the roast carrot salad and avocado salad with orange and lemon dressing from Jamie Oliver’s 2007 book Jamie at Home, and it felt like a revelation. Soon after, people couldn’t stop talking about Dan Kluger’s roasted carrot and avocado salad at ABC Kitchen.
I know the Internet is flooded with roasted carrot salads, but since they are indeed something I make all the time, I wanted to leave you with a combination I’ve been enjoying lately.
And on that note, it’s time for me to say farewell, for now.
This newsletter recently turned 1-year-old, and writing it has been an absolute thrill. It helped me get out of a recipe development rut, and I loved hearing from those who made the recipes.
Going forward, this newsletter will become more of a once-in-a-while situation. There might be recipes, or it might be essays about my favorite thing to cook: dinner.
Since I’m slowing down the cadence, I’ve paused all paid subscriptions indefinitely.
If you need some dinner inspiration, I hope you’ll browse the archives for ideas. They’ll still be there, ready and waiting for your weeknight dinner table!
Roasted Carrot and Chickpeas with Olives, Figs, and Dill
Serves 4
Time: 30 to 40 mins
1 pound carrots, preferably small ones
1 small red or yellow onion
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon ground cumin
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
Fine sea salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 15.5-ounce cans chickpeas or 3 cups cooked chickpeas
¼ cup green olives, preferable pitted Castelvetrano olives
4 large dried figs
¼ cup torn or roughly chopped dill
Heat the oven and prep carrots and onion
Set a rack toward the bottom of the oven. Heat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
If your carrots are large, cut them so you have pieces that are about 5 inches long and no more than ¾ inch wide.
Remove the stem end from the onion, then stand it on its flat side and cut it in half through the root end. Remove the papery skin.
Cut the onion through the root end into ½-inch-thick wedges.
Roast the carrots and onion
On the baking sheet, toss the carrots and onion wedges with the coriander, cumin, ½ teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, and a few grinds of black pepper.
Roast on the bottom shelf of the oven for 20 minutes, until the carrots are nicely browned on the bottom. Give them a quick stir and roast for 5 minutes longer. Test to see how tender they are with a fork. If they’re tender enough to your liking, allow them to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet. Otherwise, roast them for 5 minutes longer, then cool.
While the carrot and onion roast, prep the salad
Drain the chickpeas of any liquid and put them in a bowl. Toss them with ½ teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice.
Pit the olives if needed, then thinly slice or roughly chop. Add the olives to the chickpeas.
Remove the stems from the figs and thinly slice the figs. Add to the chickpeas.
Add the carrots and roasted onions to the chickpeas and toss.
Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the dill to the salad and gently toss everything together.
Taste and season with a bit more salt, if desired.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
Note: This salad also makes an excellent lunch the next day. Refrigerate in an airtight container and bring to room temperature before serving.
The short version
Set a rack toward the bottom of the oven. Heat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Cut any large carrots into 5-inch lengths that are no more than ¾-inch-thick.
Cut your onion into ½-inch wedges.
On the baking sheet, toss the onion and carrot with the coriander, cumin, ½ teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, and a few grinds of black pepper.
Roast the carrots and onion for 20 minutes, give them a quick stir and roast for 5 to 10 minutes longer, until tender. Toss with 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Drain the chickpeas and toss with ½ teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Add pitted, roughly chopped olives and sliced figs to the chickpeas and toss.
When the carrots are cool, add the carrots and onions and 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the dill to the salad and gently toss everything together. Taste and season again and serve.
Fun for kids
Toss the carrots and onion with spices, olive oil, and salt.
Toss the chickpeas with the lemon juice and salt.
Add all the other ingredients to the salad and toss.
Swaps
If you don’t want to use the onion, leave it out.
Instead of coriander and cumin, you can play around with other warm spices, such as ground ginger or paprika, or blends, like baharat.
Instead of lemon juice, try sherry vinegar or white wine vinegar.
Instead of green olives, try black olives or skip them.
Instead of dried figs, try sliced dried apricots.
Instead of dill, try chopped cilantro or mint.
Bonus points
Add ½ teaspoon smoked paprika to the spices.
Add multiple herbs.
Add toasted pumpkin seeds for a little crunch.
Sprinkle with feta.
This post resonates with me in many ways! I also grew up detached from the culinary cultures of my ancestors, and the question "What tastes like home?" seems similar to the question "What is your signature dish?", asked by pretty much every TV cooking competition I've seen, even ones geared toward home cooks. I explored these ideas in my most recent newsletter.
I feel like "signature dishes" are often closely related to culture, and growing up without any specific culinary cultural references leaves me, a curious cook like yourself ;), to my own devices in the kitchen. I wonder what my family would answer if I asked them what my signature dish is. :)
Can’t wait to make this one!