Roasted Carrots with Cumin Seeds

For the past few Easters we've gotten together with friends for an Indian-themed Easter pot-luck. This year I made tomato chicken curry and roasted carrots with cumin seeds as my contribution. The roasted carrots are quite easy and a nice complement to Indian food. I based the ingredients on this Bon Appetit recipe, but I looked to Cook's Illustrated for how to cook them. For my first batch I followed the Cook's Illustrated instructions, which involves covering the carrots with aluminum foil for the first 15 minutes in the oven and then roasting them after that. Since I was running out of time to make the second batch, I decided to try a short cut and pre-cook the carrots in the microwave before roasting them in the oven. Fortunately, that way turned out just as well.

Roasted Carrots with Cumin Seeds
serves 4 adults

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lb. baby carrots (1 small bag)
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt or kosher salt

Instructions:

Take the baby carrots out of the refrigerator and preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Rinse the carrots and dry them with a towel. If any of the carrots are thicker than your pinkie finger, cut them in half. Transfer the carrots to a medium-size bowl and pour the olive oil over them. Toss them with the olive oil and then sprinkle on the cumin seeds and black pepper. Toss the carrots again and spread them in a single layer on a baking sheet.

Cover the baking sheet tightly with aluminum foil and put the pan in the oven for 15 minutes. Then remove the foil and bake until the carrots are browned and tender, stirring them every 10 minutes. This will take about 20 to 30 minutes.

If you are pressed for time, move the tray to the upper-middle rack position and increase the temperature to 450. Then it should take less time, but check the carrots more frequently to avoid having some get charred. The other trick for reducing the preparation time is, while the oven is preheating, to microwave the oil-covered carrots until they are tender. Then stir in the cumin seeds and black pepper and roast the carrots uncovered on the upper-middle oven rack.

When the carrots are done, transfer them to a serving bowl, sprinkle on the salt, and gently toss. Serve immediately.