Roasted Carrots, Dill and Creamy Nuoc Cham
The Creamy Nuoc Cham recipe was sourced from Andy Baraghani’s The Cook You Want To Be (Lorena Jones Books, 2022). For vegan takes, see the Notes.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
Roasted Carrots
- 1 ⅔ pounds skinny, slender carrots, scrubbed and patted dry
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil, such as canola or peanut
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce
- Kosher or fine sea salt
Creamy Nuoc Cham
- ½ cup roasted cashews salted or lightly salted
- ⅓ cup water
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2 birds eye chiles, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
Herbal finish
- ½ cup chopped or hand-torn dill fronds
Instructions
- To roast the carrots: Preheat the oven to 425F. Trim the ends from the carrots and cut them into 4 to 5-inch lengths. Separate out any sections that are more than ½ inch thick and halve them lengthwise. Put the carrots on a rimmed baking sheet pan and toss with the peanut oil and fish sauce. Roast the carrots for 25 to 30 minutes, turning midway, until tender with some browning.
- Meanwhile, make the creamy nuoc cham: Put the cashews, water, lime juice, chiles, garlic, fish sauce, and sugar in a blender jar. Puree until smooth and then taste, seasoning with salt and sugar as needed. (Even though the sauce includes the salty fish sauce, it may need some added salt, especially if the cashews were unsalted.) Expect ¾ cup of creamy nuoc cham.
- When the carrots are done, let them cool for at least 5 minutes. (The carrots may be served warm, at room temperature, or slightly chilled.) Transfer half of the carrots to a platter. To assemble and serve: Drizzle about 3 tablespoons of the creamy nuoc cham on top, sprinkle with half of the dill. Add the remaining carrots and repeat with more sauce and the remaining dill. You’ll have extra sauce to serve on the side for diners to add more, as they like.
Notes
Store leftover creamy nuoc cham in a jar for up to 2 days. Use it with other roasted veggies, to dress a salad, or even for lettuce wraps.
If you do not have dill, see the main article for herbaceous substitution ideas.
For a vegan version, use vegan fish sauce. Or, try 1 ½ teaspoons soy sauce plus ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt instead of the fish sauce; the sauce will be slightly darker in color.