Receta Roasted Heirloom Carrot Salad with Miso Dressing
David Santos and Melissa Clark
While
I’ve been familiar with heirloom tomatoes for several years now, this year was
my introduction to heirloom carrots in, of all places, Trader Joe’s. It was there that I first saw a 2 lb. bag
labeled Rainbow Carrots. Last time I
checked a rainbow had considerably more colors than these do but for all of us
who grew up thinking carrots were a distinct shade of orange, these were real
eye-openers. They ranged from deep red
through several shades of orange and to an almost white carrot that looked more
like a parsnip. The first time I cooked
them, I leaned on my standard preparation, which involves boiling peeled whole
carrots until they are tender, then quickly glazing them with some butter and brown sugar. I can’t say that I noticed any real difference in taste
between the various colors but if nothing else, they were a conversation starter. Then I saw that Melissa Clark had written a
recipe for them in her “Restaurant Takeaway” column in the Times. The column is devoted to restaurant dishes
that Melissa has whipped up making them accessible to home cooks by tweaking
and testing then in hers. And we should
all thank her for this. And certainly a
word of thanks is due to David Santos, from whose Louro Restaurant (142 West 10th
St. at Waverly Place) Tel: (212) 206-0606 www.louronyc.com)
Melissa purloined the recipe.
The
closest thing to Miso Dressing that you and I may have eaten before is that ginger-y
salad dressing that often precedes the arrival of your California roll at a
sushi restaurant. Miso is a salty paste
made with white rice, soybeans and water.
That makes it gluten-free, if you are so inclined. That salty taste also makes it the perfect foil for the
sweetness of the carrots. Unlike the
first time I cooked them, here the carrots display their true colors on the
plate. They are first roasted in the
oven with a hint of sugar. The Miso
sauce could not be simpler to make: You
just put the paste in the blender or food processor with some rice wine vinegar and some Mirin
(both readily available in the Asian section of your supermarket). Miso itself may be slightly harder to
find. In my Fairway, it’s in the Organic
Section of the store. Melissa laid her
carrots atop individual plates covered with a thin layer of the dressing. I served it as a side dish so in addition to
the layer of dressing, I also topped the dish with it. The only other step is
to sprinkle some thinly sliced scallions over the dish for color and crispness. I have to give a special shout-out to my invaluable sous-chef, Mary Haskin, who is a complete whiz in the kitchen and was such a huge help to me this weekend! Thanks Mary! The dish is as elegant as she is. Here is the recipe.
Recipe for Roasted Heirloom Carrots with Miso Dressing from Melissa Clark and David Santos:
Takes under 30 minutes to make. Serves 6.
12 carrots (preferably 3 or 4
different colors), washed and trimmed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, more for
- drizzling
- 3 teaspoons granulated sugar
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black
- pepper, to taste
- ½ cup of shiro (white) miso
- 2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
- 3 scallions, white and light green
- parts, thinly sliced
- 1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
- 2. Cut carrots into 2-inch diagonal
- pieces. If using different colors, keep carrots separate so the colors don’t
- bleed into each other. Toss carrots with olive oil, 1 teaspoon sugar, salt and
- pepper. Lay carrots on a large baking sheet in one layer and roast until just
- tender but not mushy, 20 to 30 minutes. Let cool.
- 3. Meanwhile, place miso, vinegar,
- mirin and remaining 2 teaspoons sugar in a blender or food processor. Blend
until smooth.
4. Smear dressing thinly on serving dish and arrange
carrots on top. Drizzle with more miso dressing. Sprinkle with scallions and
serve.