Fresh, healthy and packed full of protein, enjoy these healthy Oven Roasted Carrots and Chickpeas with Farro as a delicious holiday side dish or as a complete meal.
Life currently? My little family and I are headed up to the mountains for a Sunday afternoon spent in nature. Most weekends I am too busy or I have too much work to get away for an entire day; but the closer Octavian gets to four, the more I realize I have to start making time. I’m not always the best at this- I love what I do and I love my family and I want to do everything.
For this weekend, however, I cleared my Sunday (mostly) so we could go searching for lizards and bugs and birds up in Desolation Wilderness. Soon enough it will be winter and this beautiful spot up in the Sierras will be covered in snow (hopefully).
Carpe diem.
Anywho, the other afternoon my husband brought to my attention that we had four bags of carrots in our refrigerator,
“Hey, Love! Are you aware that we have FOUR bags of carrots in our fridge?”
“Umm, yea!” (I was not)
“Are you planning on making carrot soup or something?”
“Yea, something like that…”
I had no idea what I was planning. I just learned about all these carrots. Carrots are one of those things that I pick up nearly every time I go to the market even though they probably aren’t even on my list. Since my secret stash had been found by the big bad food police (my husband) I had to think fast and get them out of the house.
Well, thank goodness for one of my favorite bloggers, The Almond Eater, and her delicious recipe for roasted carrots with lemon yogurt sauce and farro. My carrot dilemma had been solved and I got to eat my fav grain farro.
Totally serious, though, this veggie packed dish is great as a meal, or as a side. And the leftovers are awesome.
Oven Roasted Carrots + Chickpeas with Farro and Lemon Yogurt Sauce
Ingredients
- 8.8 ounces quick cook farro (I used an entire package of Trader Joe's pre-cooked farro*)
- 3 cups fresh baby spinach (chopped)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
FOR THE ROASTED CARROTS + CHICKPEAS:
- 15 oz chickpeas/garbanzo beans (1 can, drained and rinsed)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 pounds carrots (peeled (optional))
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
FOR THE LEMON YOGURT SAUCE:
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- 1 lemon juiced
- 1 lemon zested
- 1/2 teaspoon tarragon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. and cook farro according to package instructions* When the farro is finished cooking, but still hot, stir in the fresh spinach with a drizzle of olive oil and cover. Allow the spinach to cook from the hot farro.
- Drain and rinse chickpeas patting dry with a paper towel to remove as much water as possible (otherwise they will steam in the oven rather than get crispy). Transfer the chickpeas to a medium bowl and toss with the olive oil, paprika, cayenne pepper, lemon pepper and salt.
- Transfer chickpeas to baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for approximately 30-35 minutes, or until golden and crispy.
- Meanwhile, prepare the carrots- on a large baking sheet toss the carrots with olive oil, dried tarragon, dried parsley, salt and pepper. Transfer baking sheet to the oven and bake for approximately 25-30 minutes, or until fork tender and browning at the edges.
- Prepare the yogurt sauce- in a medium mixing bowl combine the plain yogurt, lemon juice, lemon zest, tarragon, and salt. Set aside until ready to use.
- Remove the carrots and chickpeas from the oven.
- To serve, place the farro and spinach on a large serving tray or bowl and top with the cooked crispy chickpeas, carrots and yogurt sauce. Garnish with additional lemon zest and fresh cracked pepper.
Jessica's Notes
Nutritional Information
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and specific brands of ingredients used.)
Thank you! I’m going buy the ingredients tonight