Carrots are the heart of board game food resources, whether it’s cultivated on your cardboard farm, transported and traded on long voyages, or cooked up as a creature comfort. Buying carrots by the bunch it always seemed such a waste to discard the lush greenery on top and much like punishing euro games about feeding your family, one should always be efficient about using every resource.

This recipe was originally utilized for my Cascadia feasts, and typically paired with salmon (see my accompanying recipe HERE). But it’s too good to limit to just the one dish, so I’ve broken it out to showcase on it’s own.

I’ve only recently come to appreciate how versatile carrots are, whether mashed, baked or cooked into a nice cottage pie. But this really highlights their flavour, cooked through just enough to retain some crunch, with the caramelized crust breaking up the earthiness.

Similarly, the bitterness of the leaves (a big part of why they remain largely unappreciated) is here counteracted with some citrus zing while still allowing you to get down to earth.

Pairs with: Agricola, Bunny Kingdom, Cascadia

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Caramelized Carrots with Carrot-top Green Goddess Dressing

Let no part of the carrot go to waste with this vibrant side-dish

Course Side Dish

Keyword Carrots, Vegetables, Vegetarian

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Equipment

• Food processor or immersion blender

Ingredients

• 1 bunch carrots including green tops
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 clove garlic peeled and finely chopped
• 2 tsp brown sugar
• 1 orange juiced
• 1 sprig fresh thyme or 1/4 tsp dried

Dressing

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 shallot peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 clove garlic peeled
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp chives

Instructions

• Washing the carrots thoroughly, including the green. Remove the greens from the carrots, trim and discard any thick stems and add any remaining greens to a food processor¹.
• Add mayonnaise, sour cream, shallot, garlic, lemon juice and chives to the food processor (or use an immersion blender with a medium sized bowl). Blend until combined and set aside
• Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Add butter and once melted, add garlic and cook until softened.
• Add orange juice, brown sugar and thyme to the pan and stir to combine.
• Add carrots in a single layer, rotating regularly until browed on all sides, about 15 minutes total.
• Serve carrots with the dressing alongside your favourite main or enjoy as a snack.

Notes

1. You can reserve some of the carrot greens for garnish