Roasted carrots and fennel is a colorful combination that's really easy to prepare, and the end result is tender vegetables that are mellow and gently sweet. A tasty side dish that can pair with a broad range of dishes.
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Roasting has that fantastic ability ot really bring out the flavors in a wide variety of vegetables, and best of all, it does so with very little effort on your part. Often they need little more than oil and a light seasoning. Though some added flavor can really help them shine, like maple roasted buttercup squash or harissa roasted vegetables.
Root vegetables like squash, sweet potatoes and carrots get a lovely natural sweetness coming out when roasted. And fennel is another that really benefits from roasting, too. They may not be a pairing you immediately jump to, but carrots and fennel also work so well together.
What is fennel?
Fennel is a vegetable known for it's anise/licorice flavor. You can use many parts of it -the bulb as a vegetable, the seeds as a spice and the pollen and fronds as garnish.
It's a Mediterranean vegetable that was likely first cultivated in Greece or Italy and was used by the Ancient Greeks and Romans. The earlier variety is wild fennel, often called bitter fennel, that you will still find used in some areas like Sicily. What we more commonly eat today, Florence fennel, sweet fennel or "finocchio", was cultivated in the 17th century.
The bulb is pretty versatile as you can thinly slice it raw in salads like Sicilian fennel and orange salad, or add it into dishes when cooking. It pairs particularly well with fish and pork, such as in my fennel, prune and pork stuffing or gnocchi with pork and fennel. Cooking makes the vegetable softer and more mellow. I like to think of it a bit like onion but with that slight anise flavor and a bit more robust.
I'll admit I did not know this until I was researching, but fennel is actually part of the carrot family. And while it's a different part of each vegetable you eat, it makes sense they pair well together. And look pretty with it, too!
Preparing the vegetables for roasting
The vegetables just a small amount of preparation before you roast them and it's a little different for each vegetable.
For the carrots, peel and trim off either end. Then cut into lengths and divide the lengths depending on how wide they are. For the medium-large carrots I had here, I made three lengths and cut the thinner lower part in half and the wider upper parts in quarters. If you have baby carrots, use more but you may not need to divide at all.
For the fennel, wash the bulb and slightly trim the base and remove most of the upper stems above the bulb (they tend to be more stringy). Keep some of the fronds for decoration later.
Then split the bulb top to bottom and cut out part of the core which can be more tough, leaving enough that it will hold the layers together. Cut each side into even sections - roughly 6 to 8 pieces from each half for a wider bulb as I had, less if it's smaller. You want the wider edge around similar thickness to the carrots.
Once you have your vegetables chopped up, place on a baking dish and drizzle relatively generously with olive oil, salt and pepper before roasting. You can toss the carrots but be a little more gentle with the fennel so they stay held together (it's not so important to cooking, just looks a little prettier). Roast until tender and gently browned underneath.
Serving ideas
These have lovely mellow flavors that would work well with a broad range of mains - particularly things like roast beef, chicken, turkey and pork (in other words great for festive meals!). They'd also go well with various stews, and alongside other things like baked pasta dishes and more.
While they're great warm, I also really like these room temperature as well, almost like more of an antipasti dish to nibble on, especially when dressed with the honey lemon vinaigrette. You could put them on a grazing board, serve with whipped ricotta (such as the topping to my basil ricotta toast) and things like ham and cheese. So many options!
These roasted carrots and fennel are colorful, flavorful and fantastically easy to make. Adaptable in how you serve them, and great with so many dishes. Be sure to add them to your menu soon.
Try these other tasty vegetable side dishes:
- Vichy carrots - gently braised is a sweet buttery liquid, these carrots win over even those not particularly a fan of carrots.
- Maple roasted buttercup squash - a great, simple way make the most of this tasty squash, that also works with other varieties.
- Braised leeks - meltingly tender with a delicious buttery, herby glaze.
- Plus get more side dish recipes in the archives.
Roasted carrots and fennel
Ingredients
For roasted vegetables
- 1 bulb fennel or more if small
- 2 carrots relatively large, or more if small
- 1 ½ tablespoon olive oil approximately, to taste
- ¼ teaspoon salt approximately, to taste
- ¼ teaspoon pepper approximately, to taste
For lemon vinaigrette (optional but recommended)
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon honey
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F/200C.
- Peel the carrots and cut into lengths, then divide each length depending on thickness - around 4 pieces for thicker end and 2 for thinner end, but may be less with thinner carrots. Trim the base off the fennel and cut off the majority of the stems. Divide the bulb top to bottom and cut out the majority of the core, but leave enough so it holds together.
- Trim the base off the fennel and cut off the majority of the stems. Save some of the fronds and chop to use later. Divide the bulb top to bottom and cut out the majority of the core, but leave enough so it holds together. Cut into slices, roughly the same thickness on the wide side as the carrots, cutting through the core so the layers hold together, as far as possible.
- Place the chopped vegetables on a baking sheet and drizzle over olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss gently, particularly the fennel, so they are coated on all sides relatively evenly. Roast for approximately 25 - 35 minutes, depending on your own and the size of the vegetables, until they are tender and just starting to brown around the edges.
- Whisk together the oil, lemon juice, honey, salt and pepper for the vinaigrette, if using (it will work without but it adds a nice brightness). Alternatively, you can shake in a small jar. Be sure to give a little stir to make sure the honey is dissolved. You may need to re-shake/whisk right before using.
- Transfer the roasted vegetables to a serving plate, or serve up on individual plates, and top with a little reserved fennel fronds and the vinaigrette, if using. Works both arm and at room temperature.
Nutrition (per serving)
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