Burnt butter is delicious. It’s sweet, nutty and toasty with a velvety mouth feel. Stir in a spoonful of umami like miso or black garlic chilli relish (2nd recipe) and you have a flavour bomb, ready to spoon over roast veggies, grilled steak or tossed through pasta. Here it’s drizzled over Dutch carrots for next level roast vege.

Option 1: With Miso

Serves 4-6 as a vegetable accompaniment

2 bunches Dutch carrots, washed to remove any sand, tops trimmed and 1/3 cup of young leaves reserved for garnish

1 tablespoon olive oil

60g unsalted cold butter, cubed

1 tablespoon miso paste (white (Shiro) or brown (Hatcho))

2 teaspoons honey (if using brown miso)

2 teaspoons lemon juice

Preheat oven to 200°C (180°fan-forced). Line a roasting tray with baking paper. Chop the reserved carrot tops for garnish and set aside.

Arrange carrots in a single layer on prepared tray. Drizzle over the oil and roll carrots side to side to coat in oil. Roast for 20 minutes, or until just tender when inserted with a knife.

Five minutes before the end of the carrots cooking time, place the butter in a heavy based medium saucepan over a medium heat. Watching carefully, cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the butter foams, becomes golden brown and the aroma is nutty. Be careful not to colour to a dark brown as the flavour can become bitter. Remove from the heat and stir in the miso paste to combine then stir in the honey if using brown miso, and the lemon juice.

Transfer the hot carrots to a serving plate and pour over the miso burnt butter

Serve hot with chopped carrot tops scattered over the top to garnish.

Note: The carrots and burnt butter can be prepared a few hours ahead, then gently warmed together in a frying pan over low-medium heat or in a microwave, to warm carrots through and melt the butter mixture.

Note: Shiro miso paste is a pale mustard yellow colour.  It has a sweet salty flavor.

Hatcho miso is a dark reddish brown colour and has a much stronger salty taste.

Option 2: With Black Garlic

Serves 4-6 as a vegetable accompaniment 

2 bunches Dutch carrots, washed to remove any sand, tops trimmed and 1/3 cup of young leaves reserved for garnish

1 tablespoon olive oil

60g unsalted butter

1 tablespoon The Garlic Company black garlic chilli relish

2 teaspoons lemon juice

Preheat oven to 200°C (180°fan-forced). Line a roasting tray with baking paper. Chop the reserved carrot tops for garnish and set aside.

Arrange carrots in a single layer on prepared tray. Drizzle over the oil and roll carrots side to side to coat in oil. Roast for 20 minutes, or until just tender when inserted with a knife.

Five minutes before the end of the carrots cooking time, place the butter in a heavy based medium saucepan over a medium heat. Watching carefully, cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the butter foams, becomes golden brown and the aroma is nutty. Be careful not to colour to a dark brown as the flavour can become bitter. Remove from the heat and stir in the black garlic chilli relish paste to combine then add the lemon juice.

Transfer the hot carrots to a serving plate and pour over the black garlic burnt butter

Serve hot with chopped carrot tops scattered over the top to garnish.

 Note: The carrots and burnt butter can be prepared a few hours ahead, then gently warmed together in a frying pan over low-medium heat or in a microwave, to warm carrots through and melt the butter mixture.

Recipe by Fiona Hammond, Aug 2023