Hot Honey Roasted Carrots & Gnocchi with Whipped Ricotta
What on earth did we do for speedy dinners with minimal prep and cleaning up before traybakes came along?
A traybake (aka a sheet pan dinner) lets you cook everything on the one oven tray, leaving the oven to create its magic without any stirring, kitchen splashes, or fuss of any kind. Then you take that same tray straight to the table to serve, leaving you with just the one tray to wash up. Genius!
There are two tricks needed for a successful traybake: firstly, make sure every ingredient is really well seasoned so it emerges from the oven crispy and delicious. For this recipe, ghee and hot honey provide the flavour punch. Secondly, always serve with a zesty little sauce to provide a refreshing pop of acidity and bring all the flavours together. In this case, it’s the quickest whipped ricotta –or feta if you prefer.
And, yes, it’s correct that you don’t need to cook your gnocchi before tossing it onto the tray! All it needs is a little love from the melted OMGhee plus salt and pepper and it will bake up golden on the outside and chewy-fluffy on the inside.
Enjoy the traybake as a light meal with ghee-roasted asparagus or a cool cucumber salad on the side. For a more substantial meal, serve the carrots and gnocchi on the side of your preferred protein.
Hot Honey Roasted Carrots & Gnocchi with Whipped Ricotta
OMGhee
3-4
15 minutes
30 minutes
Modern Australian
Enjoy the traybake as a light meal with ghee-roasted
asparagus or a cool cucumber salad on the side. For a more substantial meal,
serve the carrots and gnocchi on the side of your preferred protein.
Ingredients
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1 bunch carrots (about 500g trimmed weight)
2 Tablespoons (30g) OMGhee, melted
2 Tablespoons hot honey (see notes below) – or use 1 Tablespoon honey mixed with 1 teaspoon vinegar and a big pinch of chilli flakes
1½ teaspoons flaky salt + freshly ground black pepper
1 lemon, halved widthways, bottoms trimmed so they sit flat
350g gnocchi – use any frozen, fresh or shelf-stable gnocchi
Large handful toasted hazelnuts, skins removed and roughly chopped, to serve
Handful of fresh soft herbs, finely chopped, to serve – we used dill
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300g fresh ricotta or Danish-style feta
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Directions
Preheat your oven to 230°C (not fan-forced). Line a large, sturdy baking tray with compostable baking paper.
Prepare your carrots. Trim the tops and ends of the carrots and scrub them well (no need to peel). Cut any larger carrots in half lengthways first, then cut each carrot at an angle into 5-8cm pieces. Having a mix of shapes and sizes creates interest.
Place your prepared carrots and lemon halves in a large mixing bowl and toss with one tablespoon of the melted ghee, the hot honey, and 1 teaspoon of the flaky salt. Spread the carrots out in a single layer on the baking tray and place the lemon halves flesh side up. Roast for 10 minutes.
Using the same mixing bowl, toss the gnocchi in the remaining 1 tablespoon of melted ghee and season with the remaining ½ teaspoon flaky salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.
Carefully remove the baking tray from the oven, use a large spoon or spatula to toss the carrots and make space for the gnocchi. Place the gnocchi on the tray in-between the carrots, and return the tray to the oven for another 10-15 minutes, until the carrots are golden and tender when pierced with a small knife and the gnocchi is crisp.
While the carrots and gnocchi are happily roasting, make the whipped ricotta. This couldn’t be simpler: just pop the ricotta (or feta) in your food processor with the olive oil and the first tablespoon of lemon juice and let it whiz away for 1 minute until light and fluffy. Stop the motor and taste. Decide if you’d like the second tablespoon of lemon juice, and then add salt and pepper to suit your taste. Whiz again until combined and spoon into a serving bowl.
Carefully take the baking tray from the oven and scatter with the chopped hazelnuts and herbs.
Take the baking tray and whipped ricotta to the table for people to serve themselves. Either pile the carrots and gnocchi onto plates and top with a spoonful of the whipped ricotta. Or, if you’re feeling a bit fancy (like we were for our photos), schmear some of the ricotta over the bottom of each plate and then top with the carrots and gnocchi. Use tongs to squeeze the hot – and now very juicy – lemon halves over each serve.
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