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These roasted carrots are served with farro and topped with a simple lemon yogurt sauce and crispy roasted chickpeas. They’re the perfect side dish to any meal!
Confession: I sort of cheated with this recipe. These roasted carrots are quite similar to this recipe I created last year, only better because uhhhh FARRO and roasted chickpeas are involved! The works.
To clarify, I had to buy roasted carrots for a photography project, and afterward I wasn’t sure what to do with them. I knew Miguel and I were going to eat them, but I wanted to do something a tad more creative. So, I placed the carrots atop a bed of farro and then added a yogurt sauce along with roasted chickpeas. As a result, I was only able to eat one carrot because Miguel ate the rest, and he’s not particularly obsessed with carrots. Apparently roasted carrots can be that good.
Oh my gosh I can’t believe I almost forgot to ask—how was your Valentine’s Day? Did you do anything special? I’m pretty indifferent about the holiday, honestly. I was never bitter towards couples back when I was single, and since Miguel and I have been together we’ve never made a big stink about it. We went out to dinner last year and most years he gets me flowers which I love, but that’s about it. I like it that way! Why? Because if I have to choose, I’d prefer to be a diva about my birthday and our anniversary. Just saying!
I posted my hot chocolate recipe on Instagram yesterday and I did end up making some for the two of us. Of course as I handed Miguel a cup he smelled it and said “what is it?!!!”. “Blood orange hot chocolate” and he’s all like orange……hot chocolate???? Ugh, men.
Ok, back to carrots. First, you’ll cook the farro while the carrots and chickpeas are roasting. The carrots will roast more quickly than the chickpeas, so be aware that if you want everything to be hot, you may have to put the carrots back in the oven for a couple minutes so they’re nice and steamy.
Tip: if you have two ovens (I do not, but if you do), you’ll want to roast the carrots at 375° for 10-15 minutes, and the chickpeas at 400° for 30 minutes, or until they’re nice and crispy. If you don’t have to ovens, have no fear; you’ll simply preheat the oven to 375° and begin roasting the chickpeas first, and then after 15 minutes or so you can add the carrots on the second rack. I’d recommend placing the chickpeas on the bottom shelf and carrots on the top.
Last, you’ll whip up the yogurt sauce, aka yogurt, lemon juice, lemon zest, and tarragon! It’s so good and so simple—I hope you love it as much as we did!
Roasted Carrots with Lemon Yogurt Sauce and Farro
Ingredients
- 1 cup farro uncooked
- 2 cups spinach
- 1 can chickpeas
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 tsp paprika or more
- 1/4 tsp lemon pepper or more
- 2 bundles carrots tops trimmed
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp tarragon
- Salt and pepper
- For the sauce:
- 1/4 cup plain yogurt
- Zest from 1 lemon
- Juice from 1 lemon
- 1/2 tsp tarragon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°.
- Cook farro over stovetop according to package instructions.
- While farro is cooking, drain and rinse chickpeas and then pat them dry with a towel or paper towels, trying to remove as much moisture as possible.
- Pour them in a bowl and add 1 tbsp olive oil, paprika and lemon pepper; stir to combine
- Place chickpeas on a baking sheet, add a bit more paprika and lemon pepper plus salt and pepper and then place on the lower shelf in your oven. Roast until chickpeas are crispy, around 30-35 minutes.
- Next, place carrots on a separate baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, tarragon, salt and pepper and place them in the oven. Roast carrots until soft, approximately 25-35 minutes.
- While farro, chickpeas, and carrots are cooking, make the sauce by combining yogurt, lemon zest and juice and tarragon in a bowl; set aside.
- Once farro is cooked, add spinach to the saucepan and stir until spinach is soft. You may need to add 1 tbsp olive oil.
- Place farro on a plate and top it with the roasted carrots, yogurt sauce and chickpeas.
- Enjoy!
