If I could hand one plate to every person who thinks hot sauce is something you shake onto a taco, it would be this one.
Carrots have enough sugar to caramelize properly and enough body to stand up to a hard roast. Fresno Fire is smoky and tangy with a medium heat that fades instead of climbing, so it can go on heavy without burying the vegetable. The sauce is not a garnish here. It is the glaze.
What you need
- 2 lb whole carrots, scrubbed, tops trimmed to about an inch
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp Fresno Fire, plus more for finishing
- Kosher salt
- Flaky salt and chopped parsley or dill, to finish
How to make it
- Heat the oven to 425°F. Leave the carrots whole. Cutting them into coins gives you steamed carrots, which is not what we are doing.
- Toss the carrots on a sheet pan with the olive oil, a good pinch of kosher salt, and 2 tbsp of Fresno Fire. Get every carrot coated. Spread them out so they are not touching. Crowding is the enemy.
- Roast 30 to 35 minutes, turning once at the halfway mark. You want blistered, wrinkled skin and dark caramelized edges. A thin knife should slide into the thickest part with no resistance.
- Pull the pan and hit them with another spoonful of Fresno Fire while they are still hot, so it clings instead of pooling.
- Finish with flaky salt and herbs. Serve straight off the pan.
Notes
Thin carrots will be done closer to 25 minutes. Fat ones can take 45. Go by the knife, not the clock.
This works the same way on parsnips, whole shallots, and thick wedges of cabbage. Cabbage is the sleeper.
If you want to push it further, brown a few tablespoons of butter, stir in a spoonful of Fresno Fire, and pour that over instead of the finishing sauce.