Every creative person goes through a weird phase time and again – a block if you must! Sometimes, months have gone by before I’ve created something that would get me excited. I must admit, there have even been times when grocery shopping (which is usually my playground) has become a mundane task! But, when I have been inspired – nothing has been able to stop me.
If you follow my blog, you would’ve been privy to back-to-back posts highlighting some of my favourite recipes! I have been on a similar roll in the past few months – ever since I got my blog revamped! I’ve been having a good stream of inspiration coming my way as well – Masterchef Australia has been an absolute inspiration to me ever since I started watching its first season. There is so much I learn from the show – and the fact that I watch the series episodes back to back immerses me into the world of food – keeping the creative juices flowing. Another inspiration has always been like-minded people – with the same excited, crazy passion to experiment with good ingredients and dole out great dishes. In fact, when I first came to Dubai, I was lost in an
I have been on a similar roll in the past few months! I’ve been having a good stream of inspiration coming my way as well – Masterchef Australia has been an absolute inspiration to me ever since I started watching its first season. I learn so much from the show – and the fact that I watch back to back episodes immerses me into the world of food – keeping the creative juices flowing. Another inspiration has always been like-minded people – with the same excited, crazy passion to experiment with good ingredients and dole out great dishes. When 6 hours in the kitchen seem like the best time ever!
April was an exciting month for me foodwise, when Amrita Kaur – from Life Ki Recipe fame in Mumbai – came down for a vacation, and we had a blast visiting the last edition of the Farmers’ Market on the Terrace, and then cooking with all that amazing produce! And the creative juices were on overdrive!
We set out to create a Mediterranean-inspired menu – and had some friends and family over to feed. Our menu included – Beefsteak tomatoes stuffed with a spicy cranberry and pistachio pilaf, a creamy white pepper chicken, a wonderful blueberry and feta salad with fresh rocket, flatbreads with cocktail tomatoes and mushrooms with caramelised onions and finally, this roasted carrot with date syrup and za’atar.
There is so much soul in local ingredients. These Date & Za’atar Roasted Carrots are a true reflection of this! We bought the carrots on the last day of the Farmers’ Market of the season, and the date syrup and Za’atar were bought at a local Iranian roastery. This was topped with the brilliant Ashed Goat’s Cheese from Deena Dairy Farm. And the funky cheese just rounded it all off so beautifully! The carrots were as wild as they could be – it was almost as though they had a thorny fish-like spine running through them – and that was just more exciting. They weren’t sweet – and were, therefore, perfect carriers of flavour. The sweet, syrupy and strong date and Za’atar Flavours gave them so much oomph!
Sharing the recipe with you guys! If you want to replicate this, use the thinner variety of carrots – not the sweet ones!
| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time | 30 minutes |
| Servings |
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- 6-8 wild carrots or the more fibrous variety
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3-4 tbsp date syrup
- 1 tbsp za'atar
- salt & pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp crumbled goat's cheese
Ingredients
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- Preheat the oven to 180 C.
- Wash and scrub the carrots - there is no need to peel fresh carrots! Dry them and marinate with all the ingredients (except the goat's cheese). Taste the marinade - there must be a good balance between the sweetness of the syrup and the rest of the ingredients.
- Pop into a roasting tray and into the oven for close to 20-30 minutes. Once they are nice, golden brown and roasted, take them out and plate immediately.
- Top with the crumbled goat's cheese and serve.
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