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Vegetables that are on fire! Charred carrots with spiced nuts and lime yogurt.

Another great recipe from Josh Katz and the Berber & Q cookbook. The barbecued carrots are delicious but it is all the other elements that elevate this dish to another level.
INGREDIENTS

For the lime yogurt
100g full-fat natural yogurt
grated zest of 1 lime, plus juice of ½
1½ tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

For the spiced nuts
½ tbsp coriander seeds
¼ tbsp fennel seeds
1 star anise
¼ tbsp ground cinnamon
pinch of ground nutmeg
20g walnuts, toasted
20g almonds, toasted
5g pumpkin seeds, toasted
olive oil

For the carrots 
3 bunches of small heritage carrots, or 6 medium carrots, peeled and halved lengthways
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp finely chopped thyme leaves
2 tbsp golden raisins
1½ tbsp runny honey

To garnish
picked dill fronds and coriander leaves
2 spring onions, green parts only, thinly sliced
1 tsp Aleppo chilli flakes or ½ tsp dried chilli flakes
extra-virgin olive oil

METHOD

Mix all the yogurt ingredients together in a bowl, whisking to incorporate. Check for seasoning and adjust according to taste.

Toast the coriander seeds, fennel seeds and star anise in a small frying pan over a low heat until smoking and fragrant. Transfer to a small food processor or spice grinder, add the cinnamon and nutmeg, and grind to a fine powder. Combine the spice mix, nuts and pumpkin seeds in a food processor and pulse to a coarse, chunky paste.

Season with a quarter of a teaspoon of salt and a drizzle of olive oil and set aside until required. Toss the carrots in a bowl with the oil. Season liberally with salt and black pepper.

Set up a barbecue for single-zone grilling. Heat a large cast-iron pan on the grill bars over the fire and, when smoking hot, add the carrots. Don’t overcrowd the pan; cook in a single layer so that each carrot has a generous contact point with the pan. Char the carrots until blackened but not burnt, then turn once to char the reverse side. They should be tender to a knife, with a lovely crust on the outside. (You could also do this in a double foil parcel)

Finish by adding the thyme, raisins and honey to glaze the pan for 1-2 minutes until the raisins have softened, coating all the carrots.

Transfer the carrots to a large serving platter. Spoon the yogurt on top and finish with the spiced nuts. Garnish with dill fronds, coriander leaves and spring onion, along with a sprinkle of chilli flakes. Finish with a final drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.

Serve piping hot, warm or at room temperature. These will taste good regardless of their temperature.
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