Charred Carrots with Lime Yoghurt and Spiced Nut Dust

Sometimes it's hard to come up with original and interesting side dishes when you're cooking for a crowd so when I came across a version of this charred carrot salad, I simply had to give it a go...

The magic of this recipe comes from the zesty punch of the yoghurt and the spiced nut dust - like flavour bombs in the mouth! The carrots themselves are cooked until sticky and sweet and then they're lifted with fresh thyme. I like to serve this as part of a buffet but it would work equally well as a main course with grilled fish.

Charred Carrots with Lime Yoghurt and Spiced Nut Dust
Serves 6-8 as a side


6 carrots, peeled and cut into batons
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves, finely chopped
2 tbsp raisins
1 tbsp clear honey

For the lime yoghurt:
100g natural yoghurt
Grated zest 1 lime, plus juice ½
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

For the spiced nut dust:
½ tbsp coriander seeds
½ tbsp fennel seeds
1 whole star anise
20g shelled walnuts, lightly toasted in a dry pan
20g almonds, lightly toasted in a dry pan
salt

Preheat the oven to 200C.

For the lime yoghurt, mix all the ingredients together in a bowl, whisking to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

For the spiced nut dust, toast the coriander seeds, fennel seeds and star anise in a small dry frying pan over a low heat until fragrant. Transfer to a pestle and mortar (or spice grinder) and pound into a powder. Put this powder into a food processor along with the nuts and blitz into dust. Season with salt to taste and set aside.

Put the carrots on a baking tray, drizzle with the oil, scatter over the thyme and a good pinch of salt and then roast in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Next, drizzle over the honey and scatter over the raisins. Put the tray back into the oven and cook for 15 more minutes until charred.

To serve, tumble the carrots onto a platter then dollop on the yoghurt and sprinkle with the spiced nut dust.