The intense sweetness that comes from roasting carrots should not be underestimated. And, when that’s topped with a savoury, nutty crumble, it’s a great combination. Add the wonderfully seasonal purple sprouting broccoli on the side, and it’s a luscious Easter celebration. A few low-waste tips, too: always use the parsley stalks, and try pickling the shallots in leftover gherkin brine. Trust me! And it wouldn’t be a spring recipe without our beloved wild garlic, so make the most of that while it’s about.
Roast carrot crumble with wild garlic pesto
Prep 20 min
Cook 1 hr 15 min
Serves 4
8 large carrots, well scrubbed
2 tbsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves, peeled and bashed
2 bay leaves
5g fine salt
40g softened unsalted butter
1 tbsp white or brown miso paste
½ tsp fresh thyme leaves
For the pesto
40g pumpkin seeds
30g wild garlic leaves, roughly chopped, or 2 peeled garlic cloves and 30g spinach, roughly chopped
10g parsley (flat-leaf or curly), leaves and stems roughly chopped
100ml olive oil
5g (1 small tsp) fine salt
For the crumble
50g cheddar, grated
80g day-old bread, blitzed into chunky breadcrumbs
30g wholewheat flour
30g rolled oats
50g unsalted butter, melted
10g parsley (flat-leaf or curly), leaves and stems finely chopped
25g white sesame seeds
5g (1 small tsp) fine salt
½ tsp fennel seeds
½ tsp cumin seeds
Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/425F/gas 7. Pop the carrots on a roasting tray and brush with half the olive oil. Add the garlic cloves and bay, season with the salt, then bake for 15 minutes, until deep golden. Turn down the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6, bake for a further 10 minutes, then remove and leave to cool slightly.
Turn down the oven again, this time to 175C (165C fan)/360F/gas 4½. Pop the pumpkin seeds on a roasting tray, bake for eight to 10 minutes, until golden, then leave to cool.
Slice the slightly-cooled carrots into 4mm rounds. Mix the 40g softened butter with the miso and thyme leaves, then spread this over the bottom of a round or oval baking dish. Arrange the carrot slices on top in a fanned out pattern.
Mix all the crumble ingredients until well combined, sprinkle evenly on top of the carrots and bake for 20 minutes, until golden and crisp.
For the pesto, put the roast pumpkin seeds and all the remaining pesto ingredients in a small blender (or a beaker for a stick blender), and pulse until almost smooth. Serve the pesto alongside the piping hot crumble.
Purple sprouting broccoli, almond butter and pickled shallots
Prep 5 min
Pickle 6 hr+
Cook 30 min
Serves 4
1 tbsp olive oil, or rapeseed oil
200g purple sprouting broccoli
½ tsp fine salt
For the pickled shallots
150ml pickle liquor from a jar of gherkins, or 50ml white-wine or apple cider vinegar, and 15g caster sugar
1 large banana shallot, or 1 small red onion, peeled and sliced into 2mm rings
For the almonds
125g skin-on almonds
50g olive oil, or rapeseed oil
½ tsp fine salt
The pickled shallots are best made the day before. You can reuse that pickle juice most of us have sitting in the fridge by straining what you need from a jar of gherkins into a small saucepan and heating very gently to remove the chill (ideally to around 30C). Pour this over the shallots/onions in a container. If you are making the pickle liquor from scratch, put 50ml water, the sugar and a quarter-teaspoon of salt in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Once the sugar has dissolved, take off the heat and pour into a shallow container. Add the vinegar, mix well, then add the shallot slices. Leave to pickle at room temperature for six to eight hours, then cover and transfer to the fridge.
Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6, then roast the almonds on a baking tray for 10-12 minutes, until a deep golden brown. Remove, leave to cool, then pop into a blender, add the oil and salt, and blend smooth (a smaller, bullet-type blender works best here, but if you only have a larger one, I’d recommend making a double batch; it will blend to a smoother consistency and you won’t regret having an excess).
For the PSB, put a large frying pan on a high heat. Add the oil and, once it’s hot, add the broccoli spears and salt, and cook, turning often, until it’s well coloured all over. Add a tablespoon of water, cover with the lid and cook, shaking the pan every 30 seconds, for just under two minutes. Transfer the PSB to a warmed serving dish, drizzle with the almond butter and garnish with the pickled shallot slices.