Ariana Martin

Carrots! This recipe should be called carrots three ways. Roasted carrots blended in with hummus, a few saved for scattering on top, and pickled carrot ribbons with green onions and raisins.

It had been awhile since I made baguettes and roasted carrots is one of my favorite vegetables to roast; they become a little sweet and if done just right they’ll have a slight char.

The bright orange coloring of the carrot was a desired one. It is suspected that in the 16th century the Dutch were the ones who decided to focus on growing primarily orange carrots. The domesticated form of the carrot was first cultivated for its leaves and seeds. The taproot of the vegetable (the part that grows in the ground) was originally more bitter, had a woodier texture, and was purple. Trends have been pushing to reintroduce purple carrots to the masses, and beginning in 2002 they began selling them in British supermarkets.

The versatility of the carrot seemingly has no limit. During Elizabethan times in England, the stalks were used to decorate hats, hair, dresses, and coats. Eat them raw, roasted, pickled, blended for soup, or grated and mixed with sugar and flour for dessert. Long live the carrot!